The Secret Of Chaos
by Angel015
Summary: The biggest music competition in the world has finally come to Rio. Nico and Pedro are trying to prepare, but between relationship issues, revenge seeking birds and old friends it's turning out to be a lot harder than it should be. With personal lives getting in the way of professional ones, can they beat all odds and win one of the biggest competitions of the year?
1. Prologue

_One of the biggest music competitions has finally come to Rio, and approaching fast. Nico and Pedro are trying to prepare, but between relationship issues, revenge seeking birds and old friends it's turning out to be a lot harder than it should be. With personal lives getting in the way of professional lives, can they beat all odds and win one of the biggest competitions of the year?_

**Hello to all of you lovely people who took the time to click on the link to read my latest story (Or not latest, depending on when you clicked :P) :) **

**I welcome you all to 'The Secret of Chaos'. This story is a sequel to 'Flying Home', and while you can read it without having read that first, I would highly recommend you read that first, as there are characters and past events in here that were introduced there. It would just save a lot of confusion. **

**And so without further ado, I bid you happy reading and hope you all enjoy :)**

* * *

**The Secret of Chaos**

* * *

Chaos.

By its very definition, chaos is confusion, panic, and ultimate disorder. It's unpredictable, totally random, and for any normal bird, completely and utterly stressful. But for some, Chaos is like a drug. They simply cannot get enough of the commotion and pandemonium when others are running around in a blind panic. To them it's a blast, both metaphorically, and on occasion, literally.

More often than not, they were the ones causing it.

"Director?"

"What is it?"

The already nervous bird shrank back a little at the cold voice of his superior. "I-Th-there's someone here to see you?"

"I'm sorry, was that a question or a statement?"

The bird chewed on his lower beak, "um, a statement sir."

"So stop making it sound like a question," he sighed deeply, "Send him in."

There was a long pause as the director heard shuffling, and then the clipping noise of talons on metal.

"The heat seems to be getting to you," came a deep voice laced with amusement.

"It's not the heat, it's the stupidity," the director sighed, taking a deep breath and looking up at the much larger bird, "what is it?"

"We have a problem."

"What do you mean 'problem'?" Despite the vast size difference between the two birds, the larger almost shivered at the ice in his voice.

"It's Vincent, he's...well, he's dead."

"What?" the smaller snapped, his expression torn between annoyance, anger and fear, "what do you mean dead?"

"There was an explosion, he was chasing this bird who had released all those he was keeping captive, all the way to Rio. After a chase around the city, the bird led him into a abandoned schoolhouse, but he had started a fire, and there was something explosive in the rooms downstairs. The whole building was destroyed. Vincent didn't make it out in time."

The director growled low.

"This is a problem indeed," the smaller turned around looking down from his office to the commotion below with a dark expression, "who else knows?"

"At the moment no one."

"Good, you keep it that way," he watched the panic of organisation beneath him with a grim smile, "he was the only thing keeping me in my position as director of this company. They," he spat out the word, "easily have the numbers to over throw me should they choose. No one must know."

"Understood sir," the larger bird nodded. While he could easily kill the smaller, should the need arise, while the director still had control of his workers he could without a doubt take him down without lifting a feather.

"Oh, by the way, this bird?" the director said, stopping the larger just as he was about to leave, "who and where is he?"

"He's a canary from Rio De Janeiro, I believe his name is Nico."

* * *

"Oh thank goodness you're here! I don't think I can take much more of this!"

The bright red and blue bird laughed, the bead and feather adornment on her head glittering in the multi-coloured lights.

"Aw, I knew you missed me," she giggled, drawing the bottle-capped canary in for a tight hug.

"Very funny Miyoko. Seriously though, hurry up and get your butt up there before Tony drives us all crazy with his moping," Nico laughed, pointing towards the stage, "you're already a week later than you said you would be," he scolded, pulling away with a wide grin.

"Alright, alright," Miyoko said, laughing, "but before I do, how're things with you?"

"You're seriously asking me this now? You have days to find out, get up there!" Nico just looked exasperated, rolling his eyes.

"Please, like I'm going to see you over the next few days, I'll probably be spending it-"

"Not interested!" Nico cut her off, not wanting to risk hearing something he probably didn't want to hear, "fine, life's been pretty good, I've got almost full use of my leg back, and we finally moved out of the sanctuary."

"Nice," Miyoko smirked, making Nico rather nervous all of a sudden, "how about you and Ali?"

Of course.

"Well," Nico couldn't help but grin, "you know how it is."

"Ohh," this just made the colourful bird smirk even wider, "good I take it?"

Nico sighed happily, "she's amazing," he said, "really really amazing."

"Aw, look at you, all grown up and in love," Miyoko cooed.

"Oh shut it!" the canary laughed, "She's a bit iffy about any form of PDA though," he said, pouting a little, "it's alright if it's you guys, but anyone else and I can barely get close to her."

"Ah, the public displays of affection," Miyoko nodded thoughtfully, "I wouldn't worry about it," she said, "it's still early days yet, she'll get there," she patted his shoulder sympathetically. Then they heard a high-pitched scream that made them both jump.

"Miyoko!"

"Oh my gosh Tia!"

Both girls practically jumped into each other's wings, talking at a pitch Nico was fairly sure only dogs should be able to hear and at a speed that not a single person could actually understand. He would never understand girls.

"Ladies, as much as I hate to break up your reunion, there's a performer up on stage that is very close to finishing and you two are up next," Nico said, crossing his wings and tapping his foot. He took a moment to thank whatever higher power was up there that Ali did not do this. Or if she did, she was sure not to do it around him.

"Let's get up there and give them a show!" Tia cheered, punching the air.

"Alright," Nico laughed, "I'll get up there and introduce you both."

The pair squealed happily, hugging tightly as Nico shook his head, flying up to the stage as the previous performer left. The bright lights hit him, and he had to blink a few times to let his eyes get used to it. Once able to see, he immediately sought out his brother, who was standing somewhere to the back, chatting with Pedro.

"Listen up everyone," the canary called, hovering somewhere above the stage for a better viewpoint, "the next up to sing is a very good friend of mine, very recently moved to Rio! She'll be doing a duet with Tia, and I can assure you they are both absolutely fantastic together!"

The crowd cheered as the lights dimmed, only one light behind the stage staying on, showing the silhouettes of two birds back to back.

Nico flew down to Tony, nudging him lightly, "Pay attention bro, I've got a big surprise for you." Tony just raised his eyebrows and turned to the stage as a fast beat started.

"_Feel the beat of the rhythm of the night_," Tia's voice sang out as the cheering quietened, "_forget about the worries on your mind_," Miyoko joined in at this point, and Nico saw how Tony's expression went from passive to slightly confused. Her voice was clear, but mixed with Tia's, it wasn't immediately obvious who it was. "_Feel the beat of the rhythm of the night, forget about the worries on your mind."_

The lights went up, and Miyoko sashayed forward, grinning so wide her face could have split in two. Tony's beak dropped open, his whole body frozen in shock.

"_When it feels like the world is on your shoulders_," she twirled her wings towards the sky, shaking her hips as she sang, "_and all of the madness, has got you goin' crazy__, __it's time to get out, step out into the street__, __where all of the action, is right there at your feet._"

"_Well, I know a place where we can dance the whole night away,"_ Tia sang, joining her centre stage, a spotlight coming to rest on them both as they danced,_ "and it's called the Moulin rouge__. J__ust come with me and we can shake your blues right away__, __you'll be doin' fine once the music starts."_

"_Feel the beat of the rhythm of the night," _they both sang, dancing together.

"_Dance until the morning light," _Miyoko continued on her own, the pair fluttering up to two taller boxes on either side of the stage, facing each other as they sang.

"_Forget about the worries on your mind,"_ Tia joined in, before singing on her own. "_We can leave them all behind."_

"_Feel the beat of the rhythm of the night, forget about the worries on your mind, We can leave them all behind." _They flew back to centre stage, twirling and swaying to the beat.

"_We've got on the street now__,_" Miyoko sang, her eyes searching out Tony in the crowd,_ "__the party's just beginning__," _she grinned as she found him, bobbing to the beat somewhere near the back,_ "__the music's playing__, __a celebration starting__," _Tia nodded to her and she flew down, laughing at his expression as she took his wing and began to dance,_ "__and under the street lights__, __the scene is being set__, __a night for romance__, __a night you won't forget." _She moved up closer as Tia took over, smiling seductively as she pulled him closer, wrapping her wings around his neck, swaying to the fast rhythm.

"_So come join the fun this ain't no time to be stayin' home__, __we are going on__, __tonight is gonna be a night like you've never known__, __we're gonna have a good time the whole night long."_

Miyoko looked into Tony's dark eyes, grinning wide as she kissed him, before letting go and fluttering back to the stage to join back with Tia on the chorus.

"_Feel the beat of the rhythm of the night," _they sang together, leaning against each other with one wing in the air, "_Dance until the morning light, forget about the worries on your mind, we can leave them all behind. Feel the rhythm of the night, oh the rhythm of the night, forget about the worries of your mind, we can leave them all behind."_

"_Cuando sientes que el mundo esta encima de ti y__la vida te tiene como loca__conosco un lugar donde podemos bailar."_

"Hey loser," Nico looked up at Ali's teasing voice from above him, seeing her grinning face looking down at him from where she was hovering, "worth it?" she asked, landing next to him and watching as Tony's face went from shell-shocked to amazed to over-the-moon happy.

"Oh you have no idea," Nico laughed, following her line of sight. But as the girls launched into the chorus once more Tony glanced at him, expression suddenly changed to a thoughtful frown, "apart from this bit," Nico muttered, eyes widening as his brother suddenly glared, pushing through the crowd to get to him, "I'm not looking forward to this bit."

"You complete and utter bastard," was the first thing that came out of the older siblings beak, "you knew! This entire bloody time you freaking knew!" his voice got higher and higher with every syllable, "how long?"

"Have I known?" Nico asked, smirking as Tony nodded, "remember when she called me over to say goodbye? Yeah, she wasn't saying goodbye," Nico chuckled as Tony growled. "What? She wanted it to be a surprise."

Tony sighed in frustration, "for over a month? So that's why you kept dragging me away every time a girl started flirting."

"Well it was meant to be just under a month, but she kept pushing the date, and yeah, pretty much."

"I hate you all," Tony muttered, pouting at the floor.

"Ah, you love us," Nico corrected, laughing, "I'm sure you're not exactly complaining that she's here?"

"Well, no," Tony said slowly, looking back to the stage, where the two girls looked to be having the time of their lives. He caught Miyoko's eye and she winked, sticking her tongue out a little, "but you could have told me, or at least hinted, rather than just leaving me in the dark."

"What, and miss that reaction?" Nico said, "I want a photo of that face, it was brilliant."

"Oh you know what? Screw it, I'm too happy to even care!" Tony threw his wings in the air, a smile appearing on his beak as the song came to the close, the cheers almost deafening them, making it almost impossible to have a conversation anyway.

The next thing they knew, Tony had been bowled over as a blur of red and blue tackle hugged him to the floor, apologizing and kissing him at the same time.

By the time Tia and Pedro wandered over Nico and Ali were in tears, leaning against each other for support as Tony tried to get up and actually get a word in edgeways.

"Looks about right," Tia commented with a smirk and one raised eyebrow. Pedro just snickered.

"Good show by the way," Nico commented once he had caught his breath. Tia curtsied comically, laughing.

"Thanks," she said, "trying to find time to practice was a right pain though, there were very few times where we were both actually awake," she chuckled, trying to ignore her brothers pleas for help.

"Know how that feels," Nico agreed, rolling his eyes.

Eventually Miyoko let Tony up, though she didn't exactly let go, both grinning as they joined the conversation, wings around each other tightly.

"Right, I hear it's good manners to find out how everyone's been doing after a long time away from them," Miyoko said, "how is everyone?"

"Busy busy busy," Tia said, "settling in mainly, nothing hugely interesting."

"We've all been pitching in on building Ali's new workshop," Nico added, smiling at Ali, who simply scoffed.

"Well, they've been helping," she said, gesturing to everyone but Nico, "the cripple here was more of prop."

"I helped!" Nico protested, pouting.

"Oh, sorry, yes, you were the shelf," this got confused looks from everyone, "all he did was hold stuff when it was waiting to be used."

"Well there's not a huge amount you can do with a broken leg," he muttered bitterly, glaring at the floor.

"Of course not sweetie," Miyoko cooed patronisingly, causing the glare to be aimed at her, "what about that competition coming up?" she asked, changing the subject, "I hear you two have entered on behalf of Rio."

"What's this?" Ali asked, looking to Nico with a confused, and ever so slightly betrayed expression. Nico and Pedro both sighed, glaring at Miyoko.

"Well, we were saving that for tomorrow, so we could tell everyone together," Pedro said, looking like a kid who's bubble had been popped. Nico looked a little more put out, crossing his wings and pouting.

"Well, I'm sure you've heard of that huge music competition, every three years? Prism Music?" Nico asked the group, and they all nodded, Tia with a 'well duh' face, "Well, they've finally come to Rio, and the club owners and higher ups finally put it to a vote as to who was going to represent Rio, and despite my extended absence-"

"They picked us!" Pedro finished, punching the air with a wide grin.

"Oh well done darling," Tia squealed, hugging Pedro tightly and pecking him on the cheek, "So proud of you both," she said, pulling Nico in for a hug too, Tony managing to extract himself from Miyoko so he could join. Then suddenly it was a huge group hug as Ali got pulled in, and Miyoko and Pedro joined as well.

"Haven't you got, like, a month to prepare for it though? That's not very long really," Tony asked as the group dispersed slightly. The duo just laughed, grinning knowingly at each other.

"You kiddin'?" Pedro asked, "we've been preparing for this our whole lives, the only thing we have to do is pick a set list and practice it to death."

"And then panic last minute that it's not good enough and make something up on the spot, like we usually do," Nico added with a laugh.

"Aw, well, hope it all goes fabulously," Miyoko smiled, taking Tony's wing, "now, I don't know about you, but I have someone- sorry, I mean, things to be doing, so we're going to take off, that alright?" she asked Tony, who simply raised his eyebrows in a 'in-what-universe-would-this-not-be-okay?' sort of way. "Great, see you guys later," the colourful bird grinned, dragging the rather pleased canary off through the crowd, said canary giving everyone a wave as he disappeared.

"Not enough bleach in the world," Nico muttered, his expression horrified, Tia just nodded, her expression matching his. Ali patted his shoulder sympathetically, smirking all the while.

"Hey Nico!"

The group turned at the sound of a high-pitched, giggly voice, seeing a group of honeycreepers, looking slightly nervous but giggling like little girls.

"Can I help you ladies?" The canary asked, putting on a smile.

"Well, we were just wondering if you were going to be singing tonight?"

Nico tried to hide his annoyance with a thoughtful expression, before shaking his head in what he hoped was a regretful way, "sorry girls, not really feeling up to it tonight," he said with a apologetic look. He almost felt bad when he saw their dejected faces. Then remembered how many times he'd been asked that the past week alone.

He waited until they had wandered off before turning to the group, sighing deeply, "I think they're trying to make up for the past few months, in like, one week," he said, rubbing his temples, "and honestly I'm really not up for it tonight," he frowned, rubbing his still sore leg.

"Is it hurting?" Ali asked, her voice laced with an all too rare hint of concern. His badly broken leg had taken a while to heal, and despite the lack of cast and the fact that he could now walk and move it without too many problems, it was still in the healing process, albeit close to the end. But that did mean every now and again it would get sore and stiff, sometimes with no real reason.

Nico stood up, a small smile on his beak, "only a little."

"But a little could get worse," Ali pointed out.

Since getting out of the sanctuary, Ali had been very protective over her still healing boyfriend. In that she didn't want him hurt again, she didn't want to see him in pain. She insisted that it was because it made him whine a lot, but pretty soon admitted to Nico, and Nico only, that it was because she had seen him in enough pain to last a lifetime, and she couldn't do anything about it then. It had been enough to give her nightmares.

"It could also get better, stop worrying so much," he laughed, smiling warmly at her as her expression went from concerned to exasperated. "But if it makes you feel any better, we can head home now."

This made her smile and she nodded, "done. Come on cripple, we can come back tomorrow."

"Mmm, maybe we should do the same," Tia commented, leaning against Pedro and looking up at him as he wrapped a wing around her waist, "I'm thinking we have some things to do too," she winked, smiling wide.

"Ohh, I'm liking the sound of that," the cardinal grinned, nuzzling her neck with his beak, making her giggle as she half-heartedly swatted at him.

"Note to self," Nico muttered, "pick up bleach on the way home." Ali snickered, taking his wing as they walked out into the cool night air.

"I'll keep that in mind," she said, "now come on oh crippled one, if you're a good boy and take your medicine like the doctor said, there may be a little something in store for you too." She smirked at the speed that he took to the air, grinning down at her.

"You got yourself a deal girl."

* * *

**A/N: And there we have it. The prologue to the sequel :) Honestly I was going to wait a while before posting this, but I figured I would post the prologue, since it was done, hopefully see what you think, and take it from there. I'm going to try and keep one chapter ahead at all times in this story, so if I do go through a writers block, or simply don't have time to write, I have a backup to post during the dry spell. **

**This chapter was really just to set the scene, let you know basically what this story is going to be about, and introduce our villain for the story :) **

**I hope you enjoyed, please do leave a review/comment (Whatever it is they're calling it now :P) and let me know what you think, I'm always happy to hear from any one of you :) Whatever it is you have to say :P**


	2. Preparation Time

**The Secret of Chaos**

* * *

If there was one thing he missed more than anything in his time away from Rio, it was the adrenaline rush every single time he flew onto a stage in front of a screaming crowd. Nothing could ever beat it. The overwhelming feeling of blood rushing through your veins at a hundred miles an hour, the multi-coloured lights, the sound of the beat thrumming in your ears.

There truly was nothing like it.

With only three weeks to the competition, Rio was beginning to get crowded. Performers and supporters alike slowly began to trickle in from every major city in the world, over 40 different acts, each with friends and followers. Between them and the organisers of the whole competition, things were beginning to get a little hectic.

The stage was being set up, far, far away from prying human eyes in a vast clearing in the middle of the forest. It was a job requiring more hands than the company had on site, meaning guests and residents alike found themselves pitching in whenever possible.

But despite the craziness during the day, by the time night fell nearly everyone found themselves heading to whatever clubs they could find, making them even busier than usual.

To those hardcore performers, this only amplified the atmosphere, giving even more of a thrill every time they got on stage.

"Nico!"

The laughing canary lifted his head from where he and Pedro had fallen on the floor, exhausted but hysterical after a particularly long set on the stage. Nico had decided, halfway through, to simply wing it, and managed to make up something new on the spot, and despite only giving a thirty second warning to Pedro, the pair brought the house down.

The smile was wiped off his face as he looked up at Ali's frowning one looking down at him.

"What have I told you?" she asked, looking thoroughly unimpressed, one eyebrow raised. Nico sat up, rubbing the back of his head nervously.

"Don't over-exert myself, I know," he said, looking away guiltily.

"I know you're trying to practice," she continued, crossing her wings over her chest, "but performing every night on top of that isn't completely necessary," she looked away from his pitiful expression, "just until the worst is over okay? I don't want you coming to me whining because when it's aching more than usual."

Nico looked at the floor, properly chastised. "I'm sorry," he mumbled, looking back up at her with wide eyes.

She sighed deeply, dropping her wings in defeat.

"Does it hurt at all?" Ali sounded a lot calmer as she sat down opposite him, gently rubbing his healing leg, her expression now one of concern. Nico allowed himself a soft smile as he watched her examine the scar that ran across the front of his leg. They were backstage, and more often than not this was deserted.

"Not really," he told her, "I get a twinge every now and again, but that happens regularly, and apparently is completely normal."

"Well," Ali started, looking back up at him, "you know to tell me if anything happens right?" she said, standing and holding out a wing to help him up, which he took gratefully, allowing himself to get pulled to his feet.

"Of course, you're the first one I'd go to," Nico told her with a smile, pecking her lightly on the cheek.

"You birds okay?" The pair looked over to Pedro, who was watching with an amused smile. The couple laughed and nodded, wings wrapped around each other tightly. Ali quickly made sure to have a little chat with Pedro, informing him that if Nico did look like he was hurting in any way and the cardinal didn't tell her first, she would somehow give Tia a reason to cut him off completely until the competition. Nico simply crossed his wings over his chest and rolled his eyes in the background.

"Excuse me," an unfamiliar, slightly timid male voice interrupted the conversation. The three birds turned to see a red bird with a black head, the bright red colour starting at his neck and fading down his body into a much dark red. He was only slightly bigger than the two canaries, with dark eyes and a small smile.

"Hello," Nico said, smiling at the bird, eyebrows raised.

"I'm t-terribly sorry to interrupt, but are you Nico and Pedro? Rio's contestants for the competition?"

The duo looked at each other, trying to suppress their grins.

"That's us," Pedro answered, nodding.

"My name is Franco," the red bird said, holding out a wing, which the two birds shook with a smile, "I'm one of the birds that help run the competition and the company. I'm in charge of personnel and the smooth running of the event."

Nico couldn't help but think this guy sounded slightly obnoxious. Not in what he said, but more in the way he said it, like he thought he was better than everyone else. He just wanted to tell this bird to step down off the pedestal he had put himself on. But then he remembered this competition wasn't just about talent, although that was the most of it, it was also about politics, and unless he wanted to possibly ruin their chances at winning, he would keep his beak firmly shut.

"I try to meet each act personally at least once before the actual day."

"Well, isn't that nice of you," Ali said, sounding completely neutral, but Nico caught the ever so slight mocking tone lacing her voice. He swallowed the laugh threatening to break out, keeping his expression disinterested with a small smile.

"I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name," Franco said, turning to her with a interested smile.

"I'm Ali," the female canary said, holding out a wing for him to shake.

He didn't, instead lifting it to is beak and lightly kissing it. She felt Nico stiffen slight next to her, very obviously resisting the urge to punch the bird in the face. That wasn't to say Ali was particularly happy about the way Franco greeted her. The moment her wing was released she shuffled closer to her boyfriend, taking his wing in her own. PDA be damned.

"Oh, forgive me if I made you uncomfortable," Franco said, not looking at all apologetic, "that is a common greeting where I am from."

The couple just gave him a dry look, Pedro looking rather uncomfortable at the whole situation.

"Sorry, where is it you're from?" Ali asked, forcing a smile.

"I was born in-" He started, but was immediately cut off when Ali held up a wing.

"Yeah, not interested in your whole family history, just give us a city and a country."

Franco frowned, "Paris, France."

"Nice, spent a few weeks there earlier this year," Nico commented, tapping his chin and looking thoughtful, "never saw that greeting get used once."

"It's a family thing," Franco explained, looking slightly flustered but managing to keep most of his cool.

"Well, it's not in our family," Ali said, a sickly sweet smile on her beak, "so do that to me again, and you do not even want to imagine the things I will do to you."

By this point, Nico was staring at her with absolute shock, awe and absolute adoration. While sometimes he felt a little weird when his girlfriend was shorter than him, but stronger and tougher in almost every way, times like this; when she looked sassy, sarcastic, and downright beautiful (even more so than usual that is), made it all worth it.

"Oh, and if you dare give the whole 'what-can-you-do-you're-a-girl' look to me, I will make it ten times worse. I'm a blacksmith, don't cross me," she added when Franco just gave her a doubtful look.

Franco nodded slowly, eyes wide and swallowing thickly, looking like the last thing he wanted to do right now was take his eyes off her in case she actually did hurt him. "Well, um, good luck on the competition you two," he said, turning to Nico and Pedro, "if not before, I'll see you on the day."

The pair nodded, trying not to laugh out loud at the expression of fear on the bird's face as he turned and fluttered out the room. There was silence for a few moments as they all just stared after him, rather amused. Ali turned to the boys, her expression slightly panicked.

"I just remembered who he was, I don't want to rui-"

Her worried apology didn't get much further, because the next thing she knew, Nico's beak was on hers, his wings tight around her. She laughed into the kiss, sliding her wings around his neck as she kissed him back. They vaguely registered Pedro coughing awkwardly, saying something about Tia and shuffling uncomfortably out the room.

"So I'm guessing you like my mean streak?" Ali murmured, breaking away a little. Only a little though.

"Only when it's not used on me," he chuckled, moving in to kiss her again, "but yes," another peck, "I think it's incredibly sexy."

"Well thank goodness for that," Ali laughed, "and here's me worrying I would actually have to be nice to people," she said, pulling him in for another lengthy kiss.

"Well, it's always nice to see something good came out of getting the wrong plane."

The pair broke apart, snapping their heads towards the smug female voice coming from the doorway. There, leaning against a wooden box that made up one third of the doorframe was a small, pure white dove, her bright green eyes sparkling with amusement.

Ali sighed, resting her forehead against Nico's shoulder. "Do people not understand the concept of 'privacy' anymore?" she muttered.

Nico looked down at her with a look that just said 'what?'.

"Sweet, we are in a public place, 'privacy' is a foreign concept around here," he told her, before looking back to the dove, face breaking out into a wide grin, "Adriana!"

The dove grinned, spreading her wings and bowing mockingly, "the one and only," she said, laughing. Nico extracted himself from Ali with a murmured apology and a very brief explanation, and fluttered over, hugging her tightly.

"What are you doing here?" he asked as they pulled apart.

She looked at him, (down at him, much to his displeasure) and gave him an incredibly dry look. "You're kidding, right? Biggest competition in the world, my cousin is competing, and it's in Rio. You think I'm not gonna come?"

Nico looked thoughtful for a moment, shrugged, and nodded. "Fair enough I guess. How are you?"

"Not bad, not bad," Adriana smiled, "it took me another week to escape the twins after you left though, I kept finding myself on damage control duty."

It was at this point Ali cut in, "you two realise I can't understand a bloody word either of you are saying right?" she called from where she was leant against the wall on the other side of the room.

"Oh right," Nico murmured, realising he was speaking Portuguese and Ali had only learnt the very basics at this point. Of course, that was when he realised Adriana only spoke the very basics of English. "Ali, this is Adriana, I believe I mentioned her?"

"Yeah," Ali said, smiling as she walked over, "you mentioned her during the life story we got the night before we left Hawaii."

"Adriana, this is Ali, met her in Hawaii and she came along for the ride," he grinned, wrapping a wing around Ali's shoulders as she reached them. Adriana just smirked, making Ali wonder what on earth Nico had just said.

"Nice," the dove drawled, dragging out the 'c'. "Oh, I got the message from Cosette, I'm so sorry I couldn't make it. Parents and it was too far away. I never would have made it in time. Are you okay? I need all the details, I briefly heard something about a explosion, is that true? And what about..." she trailed off at the look the pair were giving her, even Ali, who knew very little of what she was saying. "Sorry, I talk... too... much sometime," she said in English, having to think about each word before she said it.

Nico laughed, turning to Ali, "I would probably suggest finding Tia or someone," he told her, "there's a fair amount Adri needs to be caught up on, and I don't want you bored."

"That and I don't understand what you're saying," Ali said, sticking her tongue out a little, "fine," she smiled, shrugging, "I'll go tease Pedro and Tia, or Miyoko and Tony, whoever I can find first."

"That's my girl," Nico grinned, pecking her lightly on the beak as she headed back out into the club, towards the dance floor.

Adriana watched the interaction with an amused smile, waving a little as the female canary walked off.

"Screw the explosion," she said once she was out of sight, "I'm more interested in you two."

* * *

"Director?"

The small bird turned at the deep voice, a intense scowl fixed on his face.

"I found him," he bit out, turning back to the scene he was watching through a tiny gap in the curtains. He watched how the couple interacted, how they kissed, how he looked at her with absolute, unwavering love. And he watched with complete disgust.

"Do you want me to dispose of him sir?"

The director said nothing for a few long moments, just watching the pair with absolute loathing.

_This_ was the bird that had managed to kill Vincent? This puny little canary? He almost didn't believe it. He almost _couldn't_ believe it. There was no way an eagle as vast and as powerful as Vincent could be taken down by such a tiny little bird. A tiny little bird that was this close to ruining his chances at staying head of the company. Vincent was the only thing stopping anyone from even thinking of overthrowing him.

"No."

"What? I though you said that-"

"I know what I said," the smaller snapped, trying not to raise his voice, "I don't want him dead, at least not yet."

"Then what?"

"No, I want to crush him, mentally and emotionally. And I know the perfect way of doing that," the bird smirked as the larger just looked on in confusion, "we, -and by that I mean 'I'- get his girl."

"What?"

"If I can get that Ali girl, I can break his spirit. Not only will he probably drop out of the competition, but it will be the perfect opportunity to kill him, when his heart is filled with nothing but despair and hopelessness."

"Well, I like it sir," the larger bird commented.

"There's only one problem," the director sighed, looking back at the way the couple looked at each other before Ali wandered off towards the dance floor. It was true love. No matter what anyone said about them, even an idiot could see it in their eyes. She acted cold and mocking, but he saw through the act in a second, they loved and trusted each other. He had to somehow find a way of breaking that trust.

"How do I split them up?"

* * *

One week passed without any more unusual or violence-threatening incidences. Nico and Pedro carried on practicing at every opportunity. They had picked their set list and proceeded to tease everyone by telling them how awesome it was, but refusing to actually tell anyone what it was. Not even a small preview.

With only two weeks to go, the competition looming up faster than anyone had expected, and things were starting to get absolutely and completely crazy. There was a different city, a different country, a different nationality on every corner. Birds had descended on the city in their hundreds, filling up every nook and cranny of the forest around the stage area, wanting to be as close as possible to the action.

But it was often at times like this that things begin to go wrong, usually because of stress, worry, or in a certain canary's case, over-exertion.

It hit at a completely inopportune time too.

Nico didn't see it coming. On hindsight, he probably should have, but then, he had been taking all his medicine when he should have, done all the exercises needed to strengthen his leg back up after such disuse. It was that or face the wrath of Ali. Something he never, ever wanted to do.

However, the infamous duo wanted to impress, and they wanted to impress on all levels, including choreography. He knew he should've just let Pedro take over on the more complicated stuff, the canary was average at best unless the moves had been drilled into him for weeks beforehand. But he had insisted, and happy to find out that none of the moves he and Pedro had experimented with made his leg hurt. There was the odd twinge, which was immediately reported to Ali as per instructed, but nothing more, and certainly nothing serious.

Although, after two weeks of it, he guessed he should have seen something like this coming a mile away.

It was a Friday night, the usual group, plus Adriana; who seemed to have slotted in quite nicely, were down at the Alley, simply hanging out, dancing, chatting, the norm. And as usual, Nico and Pedro had been coerced into performing. Not that either were complaining.

They were just finishing the song when it happened.

Everything just seemed to slow down, a sharp pain shot through his leg, not as bad as when it had been initially broken or the weeks after, but enough to catch his breath in his throat, eyes widening and body stiffening. The sounds of the club continued, no one even noticing the sudden pain he was in, but to him the noise faded to a dull roar, and he blinked, knowing he was still very much in the public eye, forcing a smile onto his face as the music finished, waving and bowing as he usually would.

"'You okay?" the concerned voice of his best friend echoed through his head, and he vaguely felt a wing on his shoulder. He shook his head, just focusing on breathing in and out. He allowed himself to be lead off the stage and down to the back room, finding the pain increased with every step.

He sat down, or more accurately, fell down, at the first opportunity, Pedro catching him before he hit the floor and gently lowering him to the ground.

"Nico," he could hear Pedro say, and he knew his friend was close by, very close, he could feel the larger bird supporting him, but it sounded like he was miles away. The only thing he could focus on was the intense pain shooting through his leg and trying to get it to stop. "Nico, what's wrong? Talk to me buddy, what happened?"

Then as suddenly as the world had just faded, it all came rushing back. The pain didn't stop, but he very suddenly felt himself incredibly aware of everything going on around him. And more importantly, he found he had proper use of voice back.

"I d-don't know," he bit out, breathing coming in short and fast gasps, "all I know is i-it frickin' hurts."

"Nico!"

The duo looked up as two canaries burst through the doorway, both fighting to get to him first, the others close behind. He almost laughed at the comical sight of his brother and his girlfriend pushing and pulling at each other to get to him. Almost. He was only able to manage a tiny smile.

Not surprisingly, Ali beat him, dropping to his side and taking his wing tightly in her own, looking down at him with intense concern. He immediately leant against her, resting his head on her shoulder.

"What happened?" he heard her ask.

"You can say I told you so now," he murmured, breathing hard, feeling her wrap her wings around him tightly, resting her head on top of his. She scoffed, pulling his hat off and kissing the top of his head.

"I think you've learnt your lesson well enough without me having to say anything," she told him, "first things first though, you need a doctor."

Nico agreed wholeheartedly. 'There's only one little problem,' he thought as he looked around at the small crowd that had gathered around him. The last thing he wanted was news of this getting out, especially not so close to the competition. If anyone else took him, there was a very high chance of the rumour spreading. And rumours around Rio never got back to you in the same way they left.

"How?"

The group looked at each other, several beaks opened, then closed when they too saw the dilemma. None of them were big enough to comfortably and easily carry the injured canary all the way to the sanctuary.

"We can help!"

Seven heads snapped towards the two voices, expressions torn between surprise and absolute pure horror.

The twins were back.

* * *

**A/N: Okay, so I've discovered, looking at my now formed plan, that this story is going to be a hell of a lot shorter than it's predecessor. I'm predicting ten chapters at a stretch if I kept to my usual word count per chapter (somewhere between 4 and 5 thousand). But we'll see how it goes, the characters never seem to listen to my plan, so it could go on for a lot longer :P****  
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**Whatever the case, I hope you all enjoyed, and please leave a review, good or bad. The story is still in it's early stages and any and all feedback would be greatly appreciated :)  
**

**Thank you all for reading :D**


	3. Family Time

**The Secret of Chaos**

Everyone gave a huge sigh of relief when Nico flew out of the doctors room several hours later, even more so when he landed calmly and without a hitch.

"What was it?" Pedro was the first to speak up, quietly, as Tia had fallen asleep, leaning against him with her head on his shoulder. It was quite a sweet sight, and a thankful one, Tia was like a fretful mother over him sometimes, and right now that was the last thing he felt like dealing with. He noticed that most of the girls had fallen asleep by this point, Adriana and Miyoko curled up next to each other in the corner, the latter snoring lightly. He also noticed that Ali was nowhere to be seen.

"Just a trapped nerve," he explained, allowing Tony to draw him into a tight hug, "there are still a few cracks in the bone where it's still healing, tiny enough not to affect me all that much, but enough to catch. Easy to fix and no lasting damage," he shrugged, patting his brother on the back.

"So everything's fine?" Tony asked, pulling away and examining his brother's face, checking for any sign of pain, or even a tiny amount of discomfort.

"Everything's fine," Nico confirmed, rolling his eyes and smiling.

"Good," Pedro said, smiling wide, looking out the window into the dark of the night, "because I think Ali's probably worn a hole in the railing outside with her pacing."

Nico rolled his eyes, looking outside, seeing nothing but darkness. "I'll go talk to her," he said fluttering to the window.

Outside it was warm, not very, but it was only mid-October and the weather during the day was still unbelievably hot and sunny, as usual. But despite being almost one in the morning, the temperature was still comfortable. Then again, more often than not it was possible to stay out all night and not even get slightly cold.

Silently, he fluttered across the balcony to the railing, looking around for Ali.

He found her sat on the railing not too far away, just staring up at the clear sky, her expression calm and collected, though her slightly mussed up feathers were obvious signs of stress and worry.

Guilt washed over him like a wave, and he instantly regretted not listening to her. She was right, as always, and he really shouldn't have pushed himself so hard. The competition was important, but keeping the use of his leg and his relationship with Ali were far more important.

He stood there for a moment, barely breathing, just watching her, absolutely beautiful in the moonlight.

"Ali?"

Her head snapped towards him so fast he was surprised she didn't get whiplash. They stared at each other for what felt like hours, but what was probably only a few seconds. Then, out of nowhere, she got up and flew at him, burying her face in his shoulder and wrapping her wings tightly around his neck. It took him by such surprise he almost lost his balance. But he took a step backwards and managed to catch them before they both went tumbling off the edge and into the darkness below.

After a few calming breaths to slow his wildly beating heart he slid his wings around her waist and hugged her tightly.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, "I'm so, so sorry."

Ali stayed silent for a while longer, the only sign she had even heard him was the way she tightened her hold and buried her face deeper into his feathers. He didn't say anything else, didn't try to push her into replying, he simply rested his head on top of hers, gently stroking her feathers, and waited.

After several minutes of silence, the couple just holding onto the other as if it was their only lifeline, Ali finally took a deep, shuddering breath and broke away. Not much, but enough to be able to look Nico in the eyes.

"Why?" was the only thing she said, her dark blue eyes wide and searching.

"Why am I sorry?" Nico asked, hoping he had interpreted right. He mentally patted himself on the back when she nodded, and took a deep breath, preparing himself. "I'm sorry for not listening to you," he began, "you're always right, and I feel like such an idiot for not listening to you when I should have. I shouldn't have pushed myself so hard and put so much pressure on an still healing leg," he paused, trying to work out her expression. She had the perfect poker face, and he couldn't tell if that's what she was using on him right now, or if she was genuinely that unimpressed with him.

"This competition is important to me," he continued, noticing how her eyebrow twitched, like she was trying not to raise it, "I've been hoping for the opportunity to perform on a stage this big since I first heard about it six years ago, but nothing in this world is more important to me than you, and I honestly don't know what I would do without you in my life."

He fell silent, having finished his long and rather emotional apology and awaiting a response from the unusually stoic canary. After a few moments of silence Nico was beginning to worry he had said something wrong.

But he needn't have worried.

Without any warning, she leant up and kissed him.

It was gentle, soft, and filled with so much passion and love it blew him away.

She was smiling when she pulled away, and Nico couldn't help but give an inward sigh of relief, as if the kiss wasn't enough to prove that she had forgiven him. She stared into his eyes for a moment, and he found he couldn't keep his own eyes off her sparkling ones.

"I love you," she murmured, kissing him lightly on the beak, "so much."

Nico was stunned into silence for a moment. This was the first time the words 'I Love You' had been properly spoken between them. Neither of them counted that moment after the explosion all those weeks ago, she was over-emotional, and he was unconscious.

"I love you too," he said softly, "more than anything in the world."

The way her eyes lit up and a wide smile broke onto her beak is something Nico knows he will never be able to get enough of. Neither spoke a word, instead simply resting their foreheads together and just enjoying each other's presence. There was silence for a long while, both not wanting to move, afraid that if they did they would break this moment of peace and calm that was so rare in their lives.

But after a long while, Nico decided it was time to break the quiet.

"_My gift is my song_," he sang, so softly it was barely heard, but Ali looked up, moving back slightly so she could see his face, "_and this one's for you_." It didn't take long for her to mirror the gentle smile on his beak as he pulled her body tight against his, taking her wing and swaying slightly.

"_And you can tell everybody, that this is your song, it may be quite simple but, now that it's done_," he took a step back and twirled her slowly, grinning as she let out a little laugh, "_I hope you don't mind, I hope you don't mind, that I put down in words_," he drew her to him once more, slowly sliding a wing around her waist, "_how wonderful life is, now you're in the world."_

"Hmm, that sounds familiar," Ali commented with a teasing smile, but her eyes spoke infinitely more, of happiness, wonder, joy, and above all, love. "How long have you been working on that?" she asked, tilting her head slightly.

Nico gave a small laugh, "other than that last bit, about ten minutes," he said, chuckling a little as her eyebrows raised and eyes widened, "I've been trying to write the perfect song for weeks now," he explained, "but nothing I wrote came out right, it just didn't seem good enough for you. That was an on the spot thing."

Ali softened her gaze, smiling widely, "can you sing some more?"

"_I sat on the roof_," Nico carried on singing for her, not even thinking about the lyrics coming out of his beak, knowing in his heart that they were the right ones, "_and I kicked off the moss. Well some of these verses, well they got me quite cross._"

He twirled her again, before swaying some more, Ali leaning her chin on his shoulder as she listened to his soft voice singing in her ear.

"_But the sun's been kind, while I wrote this song, it's for people like you that keep it turned on," _he grinned as he pulled away, flying up to the roof, turning as he landed with one wing held out as an invitation to join him. He immediately pulled her close and began dancing once more, swaying gently. "_So excuse me forgetting, but these things I do, you see I've forgotten if they're green or if they're blue,"_ he looked into her eyes, immediately losing his train of thought, "_anyway the thing is, what I really mean, yours are the sweetest eyes, I've ever seen."_

He was singing louder now, bolder, like all he wanted to do was shout is from the tree tops and sing it to the world. They danced together, letting Ali lead, letting her show off her skills he knew she had in so many styles, but never shown in the public eye.

"_And you can tell everybody, that this is your song, it may be quite simple, but now that it's done," _they were at the peak of the slanted roof now, Nico twirling her around as they reached the top before wrapping both wings around her and pulling her tightly to him. "_I hope you don't mind, I hope you don't mind," _he sang softly once more, resting his forehead against hers and just staring into her eyes,_ "that I put down in words, how wonderful life is, now you're in the world."_

The night fell quiet as his voice faded into silence, both birds content in letting the world carry on around them, not wanting to leave their own little world just yet.

They stayed on that roof for the rest of the night, laying down and just watching the night sky, sometimes talking, sometimes content to just lay together in silence and staring at the stars. And by the time the sun rose they were both fast asleep, curled up in each other's wings, happy smiles on their beaks.

* * *

"You know, I'm kind of scared to ask, but what are you two doing?"

"Well," Josh looked up, his smile a little too mischievous for Tia's liking, though Ali found she quite liked it, "you see down there?" he pointed over the cliff edge. The two girls peered over, seeing their usual spot on the beach, a fair sized alcove with a lot of sand, inaccessible by humans. It was Tuesday evening, in other words, family time, and all they could see were about thirty or so toucans, most of them kids, and there, sitting and leaning against one of them, was Nico, dozing lightly in the warm evening sun.

"As you can see," Joe started to explain.

"It's rather hot out here today," Josh continued, smirking as he jumped down into a rather deep trench they had been digging. Ali and Tia followed it backwards until they lost sight of it.

"At the end of this trench is a water storage tank," Joe said, pointing far into the distance.

"We've linked a tube to the bottom and the water will flow down."

"Really quickly we hope."

"Down the trench, and to the ground below, back into the ocean."

"Of course, it will cause a mini waterfall to the beach below, hopefully cooling the occupants below."

Ali and Tia stared at them, disbelief and awe clear in their expressions. When the twins wanted to pull a prank, they didn't do it in halves.

"Are you sure this will work?" Tia said, looking a little anxious as she peered back over the edge to the group below, "and by that I mean have you done it before?"

The twins looked at each other, then at Tia, shrugging. "Not really," they said together, but looking surprisingly calm about it all.

"We've done all the necessary calculations and precautions," Josh said, flying up and out of the trench, landing next to his brother.

"All we have to do is let the water flow," Joe continued, grinning madly.

"You might want to do that before they pack up and go home then," Ali commented, smirking slightly. Tia turned to her in shock, beak dropped open. She stared at the slightly smirking canary for a few moments, unable to find the right words to scold her friend for encouraging their behaviour. Then she snapped her beak closed, her face adopting a rather amused smile as she turned to the twins.

"Ah what the hell, do it."

* * *

Nico sighed happily.

The evening sun was shining, the almost constant dull pain he used to feel had been reduced to nothing, he was at last completely off medication, and he was surrounded by family.

A completely insane, hyper and eccentric family, but family none-the-less.

He could feel himself slowly drifting off to sleep, but desperately trying to keep himself awake. Last night had been a long one, having not fallen asleep until early that morning, and then being rudely awoken by Pedro only several hours later. Needless to say he was not happy and had promptly thrown his cap at his friend, hitting him squarely on the forehead.

But he knew if he fell asleep now, there wasn't a chance in hell of being woken up, at least not without a fight, and absolutely no chance of falling asleep at a decent hour later that night. The only problem was that Julian was such a comfortable pillow, and he simply didn't have the energy to move.

He felt a drop of water hit his beak and he lifted his cap and cracked open an eye. The sun was still shining, so he chalked it down to one of the kids and dropped his cap back over his eyes.

But when a few more drops hit the top of his head, he sat up, pushing his cap back, fully ready to scold which ever toucan kid was messing with him. But when he looked around, there was no one close enough to be able to get him wet, and they were too far away from the ocean for it to be spray from the waves. Julian too was looking around in confusion.

Then they heard a rushing sound, stopping nearly everyone in their tracks, everyone looking upwards to where the strange sound was coming from. The next thing they knew a wall of water cascaded over the edge of the cliff, gravity very obviously working as it sped down towards them.

Nico found himself quickly yanked well out of the way of the waterfall that had suddenly appeared, pulled into Julian's wings as everyone jumped or flew out the way of the surging water as it hit the ground, not a single bird managing to dodge the spray of water and sand.

Silence fell over the large family for a short while as they just stood and watched the water pool and begin to flow in a river towards the ocean.

"Bugger!"

"Missed!"

Nico looked up at the sound of two annoyed, and very, very familiar voices from somewhere above him. There, looking over the edge of the cliff were the heads of Joe and Josh, and much to his surprise, Ali and Tia. The two girls quickly pulled back, their heads disappearing.

"If you guys would excuse me for a moment," Nico bit out, trying to sound calm, but tiredness was beginning to hit, and he could feel himself begin to feel incredibly cranky, "I just need to go and slowly maim and murder a couple of owls. Don't wait up."

And without waiting for a response, he wiggled out from under Julian's wing and took off, flying straight up, almost laughing mid-flight as he saw the twins expressions go from annoyed-slash-amused, to absolutely terrified, before disappearing altogether.

He caught them easily, the pair having tripped over themselves to get away from him, and promptly sat on them both while yelling in very fast Portuguese how idiotic they were and what did they think they were doing, someone could have died. He held back on the profanities because he knew the kids were probably listening and he didn't want to subject that to them just yet. He'd wait a few years, then add bit more dysfunction to an already crazy family.

Laughs echoed up from down below as he finally began to slow down, breathing hard, but with a slightly amused smile on his beak.

"I will say however," he started, switching to English so they could understand him, "kudos on the effort."

Then he turned to Tia and Ali, the former hiding slightly behind the latter, both looking quite shocked.

"And as for you two," Nico started in a low voice, expression growing dark, "I know you encouraged them, and I'll deal with you later."

* * *

"I'm sorry!"

Nico turned at the slightly nervous voice from the entrance to his and Ali's shared hollow. He raised his eyebrows when he saw Ali standing there, expression worried and holding a strawberry.

"You know," Nico started with a amused smile as he walked forward, taking the sweet fruit from her outstretched wings, "I'm starting to see a pattern here," he said as he took a bite.

"Any excuse for a strawberry," Ali shrugged. She gasped as Nico suddenly kissed her, short and sweet, the taste of the strawberry lingering on his beak.

"You are forgiven," Nico said, smiling softly as he handed her the rest of the strawberry, "the twins are a force to be reckoned with, I give you that," he walked back over to their nest, crawling in and curling up, yawning widely.

"Aw, is the poor baby tired?" Ali cooed teasingly, finishing off the fruit in a matter of seconds, walking over and standing over him. Nico just raised his head, giving her a look that just said 'don't-push-your-luck-girl'. Ali just gave him a smirk that said 'and-what-are-you-going-to-do-about-it?'

Nico kept a poker face on as he sat up, and then, taking her completely by surprise, wrapped both wings around her waist and pulled her down. She shrieked, falling across him into an undignified heap, but this quickly morphed into laughter as he began to tickle her mercilessly.

She tried to find a way of getting back at him, she knew he was extremely ticklish down his spine, but unfortunately, she was sensitive all over, and she was too busy trying to push his wings away to even think about tickling him back.

There was, however, one way.

She kissed him hard on the beak, almost laughing when he immediately stopped. She used this moment of calm and perfect position to flip them over so she was leaning over him, holding his wings down and breaking the kiss, smirking down at him.

"I win, I think," she teased.

"Oh, you got me," Nico said mockingly, trying to pull his wings out from her grasp. Needless to say, he didn't do very well.

"Yeah, you know I'm stronger than you right?"

Nico just glared up at her, one eyebrow raised, "you haven't exactly let me forget that little detail," he deadpanned, still struggling to free himself. Ali laughed, letting go and rolling off him, lying down next to him and curling up, smiling widely.

"Night," she whispered, allowing him to wrap his wings around her and snuggling in closer.

Nico smiled, pulling her close and closing his eyes.

"Night sweetheart."

* * *

He had to find Nico, he just had to.

Tony pushed through the tight crowds, searching for his brother that had chosen now to just disappear of the face of the planet. He had to get to him, had to find him before they did. If he didn't... he shuddered at the thought. No. He had to get to find him first.

Just why did that canary have to be so bloody difficult to find?

That was when he saw it. A flash of yellow through the thick crowd. It could have been anyone, but it was worth a shot. Pushing through the tightly packed bird was certainly a challenge, and there were several occasions he found himself either squashed awkwardly between two larger birds, or almost trampled to death.

At least it wasn't for nothing. As he got closer he saw a flash of his trademark bottle cap, and could see Rafael close by.

It took him a good five minutes to fight through the two feet of birds to get to him, and there was moment of panic as he thought they had moved or flown away. But eventually he broke though, having to grab hold of his brother in an attempt not to fall flat of his face.

He couldn't have picked a worse bird. Ever since the accident, Nico had be favouring his left, uninjured leg, even now they were both in full working order, which made his balance a bit skewed. The younger bird didn't stand a chance, and they both ended up sprawled on the ground.

Pedro and Rafael, who were originally chatting with the capped canary, stared at them in shock for a second, before breaking into peals of laughter, Pedro leaning on the larger bird for support, wiping the tears from his eyes.

Nico pushed himself up, blinking down at Tony, who was still on the ground, obviously not expecting his support to have fallen down with him.

"As nice as it is to see you oh brother of mine, any particular reason you decided to tackle me to ground?" he asked, raising his eyebrows. Pedro had managed to calm himself down enough by this point to offer a wing and help them both up.

"What's up bird?" the cardinal asked, looking just as confused as Nico.

"Nico," Tony panted, "we have a problem," he said, looking slightly panicked, eyes darting around, "the group from Barcelona just got here, bringing along two very undesirable guests."

"This hasn't got anything to do with Vincent does it?" Rafael asked, looking worried for his son's safety. The eagle was bound to have friends, and he didn't want to think about who they might be. He had almost lost Nico once, he was not going to do it again.

"No," Tony said, and they all gave a big sigh of relief, "it's worse."

Nico stiffened, turning to his brother, "what do mean worse?"

"Nico," Tony turned to him fully, taking a hold of both his wings and looking him the eye, hoping against hope that he would take the news better than he did, "our parents are here."

* * *

**A/N: A huge thank you to ILOVENICO1000x for the inspiration for most of this chapter :) Just thought I'd put it forward to any other readers, I need to think up a few fun filler scenes, otherwise this story might be over a bit too quickly for my liking and I'm worried it might become a bit too serious, something I'm hoping to avoid. So if anyone has any ideas involving any of the characters, please throw them my way, either in a review or a PM. Thanks so much :)**

**As you can probably tell, I'm in love with Moulin Rouge, considering how many of their songs I've used so far :P But what can I say, it's perfect if you're looking for love songs XD So yes, the song was '_Your Song_' - Elton John/Moulin Rouge :)_  
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**I really hope you all enjoyed, and if you did, drop a review :) and if you didn't, tell me why, I'm always willing to take on criticism and suggestions :) It doesn't have to be long.**

**Thank you all for reading, have a wonderful day and hope to see you all again soon :D**


	4. Meet the Parents

**The Secret of Chaos**

* * *

"Actually, you know what? I don't think I want to do this anymore."

Tony grabbed Nico by the wing with a stony expression, preventing the younger bird from escaping. "Yeah, I don't think so, this was your idea," he said, pulling him back so they were standing side by side, both looking down at the loose crowd nervously. The brothers had talked long into the night about what they were going to do, eventually coming to the decision that they would have to face them eventually, might as well get it over with. Despite the thousands of birds in the city and jungle, Nico was performing in the competition and they were bound to see.

"Are you sure it's them?" Nico asked anxiously. He did know, he'd had to relive his last moments with them so much as a child that even though he had repressed the memory for so many years now, he would know who they were the instant he saw them. But right now, he was willing to do just about anything to stall the inevitable. So far that morning he had slept in for as long as possible, gone to the bathroom twice, flew over to see his family, Pedro, the Macaws, and even said he needed to check in at the Alley first. Tony was just as nervous, but in the end hit him round the head with his cap and dragged him off.

"Absolutely," Tony said, steeling his expression and flying down to the ground, Nico close behind him. He automatically put a protective wing out to shield the younger bird. These were the birds who were meant to love and nurture them both, but they did the opposite. He would do whatever it take to protect his little brother, even from their own parents.

"Excuse me?" he asked politely, watching with bated breath at the couple turned around to face them. To any other bird, they looked like completely normal birds. One, a completely yellow female, seemed happy and content with her life, chatting happily away with her husband. She had clue blue eyes, a trait neither of the brothers had inherited, and the area around her eyes a darker, more orange colour, the rest of her feathers a pale yellow, not a single trace of brown. The other was a larger male, his eyes dark and serious. He was a darker yellow colour, with brown tipping the ends of his feathers, particularly on his wings.

The couple looked at them for a moment, expressions confused and, if they looked deep enough, almost hopeful.

Nico and Tony glanced at each other for a second, conveying a million things in that one glance, all the fear, worry, anxiousness and uneasiness. But one thing stood out among all the others. It was definitely them, without a shadow of a doubt.

"Antonio?" the female stepped forward, her tone questioning and wishful, "is that you?"

Tony winced at the use of his full name, having dropped it seven years previously. He nodded, a little apprehensive, resisting the urge to take a step backwards, instead standing his ground.

"Hello," he said, suddenly feeling slightly awkward, all the things he had planned to say to them flew from his mind, leaving nothing but 'oh crap'. Nico shuffled a little closer, his mind overcome with broken up flashbacks from his last moments with the two birds in front of him.

"Oh, Marco look!" she turned to her husband, who was looking at the two boys with a expression torn between happiness and horror, "he's alive! I told you!"

"Yes Alita, I can see that," Marco shook his head, smiling in amusement at his wife, "what I'm more amazed at is that the other one's alive too," he looked at Nico, eyebrows raised and distain clear in his expression. Nico just glared right back, giving him a look that just said 'you-think-I-care?'.

"On second thoughts, I don't think this was such a good idea," Tony murmured to his brother, looking very much like all he wanted to do was punch Marco in the face, then set the twins on him for good measure.

"No, but I need to know, _we_ need to know," Nico stressed, "this may be the only chance we get to know why."

Tony sighed, then nodded. He was right, they needed to know.

The pair turned back to them, identical stony expressions fixed on their faces. Nico had to resist the urge to roll his eyes at the look on Alita's face, the way she was staring at Tony with absolute awe and wonder.

"Why?" she asked. The brothers looked taken aback for a moment, about to ask the exact same question.

"Why what?" Tony questioned, looking rather confused.

"Why did you leave us son?" Marco stepped forward, wrapping a wing around his wife. Tony just stared at them, open-beaked and shocked at the sheer audacity of the question.

"Why did I leave you?" he repeated, "Why did I-" he noticed his voice getting higher and higher with every syllable, and stopped, clearing his throat, "what kind of a question is that? You abandoned Nico!" he hissed, trying not to draw too much attention to them, "you practically threw him out of the cage! He was three weeks old damnit! And you wonder why I wanted to leave you?"

Nico put a wing on his shoulder, effectively calming the seething bird a little.

"Deep breaths Tony," he muttered, taking a tentative step forward, frowning as he noticed the way the couple shrank back a little. "We just want to know why," he said calmly, looking right at them, even if they wouldn't look at him.

"Because you were about to destroy everything we knew," Alita muttered bitterly, staring at her feet.

"What?" Tony squawked, moving to take a step forward, the only thing stopping him was Nico's wing held out in front of him, "what the hell do you mean?"

"You didn't hear them!" Alita said, suddenly distraught, "usually when humans have pets, they sell the children, not the parents that they've looked after for years." She stopped, choking back angry tears.

"They were going to sell us all," Marco said, glaring at the younger, "except you."

He pointed at Nico, who's anger and annoyance had vanished, replaced with simple shock. They were going to sell them...and keep him. Suddenly he could understand. He still thought they were terrible parents for doing what they did, but they were doing it to protect themselves and their older son from possible bad owners.

But even so...

"So you were willing to possibly sacrifice my life," Nico started, voice low and quiet, eyes downcast, "to make sure you didn't get sold to another owner?"

Tony didn't know what to do, console his brother - who was obviously either bottling up his feelings or simply waiting for the right time to blow up at them - or yell at them himself, find out what the hell they were thinking.

"It was the only way to keep the family together," Alita said, trying very hard not to look guilty, but failing miserably, looking away from both boys, one angry, the other disappointed.

"And how well did that work out for you, huh?" Tony asked, raising an eyebrow, "because last I checked, you lost both sons as a result."

The couple were silent for a few moments, glancing at each other, then at the brothers, before both looking away awkwardly, Alita pouting and Marco glaring a hole in the floor.

"Do you regret it?" Nico asked, still refusing to look at either of them.

Alita looked torn, "yes and no," she said, chewing on her lower beak, obviously hating the look she was getting from her oldest son, the son she loved and lost, "it would have worked, we could have stayed together, they were planning on keeping us after you disappeared. But when you left us," she looked at Tony, who glared right back, making her wince visibly, "I couldn't believe it, it broke my heart."

The group was silent for a moment. Marco rubbed his wife's back soothingly, both looking like they had done nothing wrong. Nico sighed deeply, closing his eyes.

"How do you think I felt?" Tony asked quietly, looking incredibly disappointed in them both. Anger was one thing, but you can only feel so bad when someone is shouting and screaming at you, but disappointment is something that cuts deep into your soul and will make you feel guilty whether you've done something wrong or not.

With a small sigh, Nico turned to Tony, chewing his lower beak a little. "I think I've heard enough," he murmured. Then, not even waiting for a reply, he took off, flying away.

Tony just stared after him with sad eyes, before turning to the other two canaries. Alita opened her beak to say something, but Tony cut her off with a glare.

"You know, I'm actually glad you did what you did," he said with a bittersweet smile, "he deserves so much more than you," Alita's face, which was beginning to show a small smile, fell, showing guilt through and through, "you know he now has parents who love him more than anything, even if he isn't their real son, and _seventeen _siblings, some of which have kids of their own. His family is bigger than any I've ever seen before, and despite the differences, they all love him. Which is more than you ever did."

Without another word, he took off after his brother, even though he was far out of sight.

* * *

"Hey, either of you two seen Nico?"

Pedro looked up at the voice of Ali, seeing her standing at the entrance to his and Tia's hollow.

"No," Tia said, from her perch on the other side of the room, "not since yesterday afternoon," she tilted her head, concerned, "what's wrong? You look..." she paused, trying to think of the right word, "flustered," she eventually said, "you never look flustered."

"I don't know, I'm just worried is all," Ali sighed, "he was out late last night, which is normal, but he looked awful when he got in, and was awake after only a few hours sleep and didn't try to bite my head off, which was weird in itself. Did anything happen last night at the club?"

The couple glanced worriedly at each other, then at Ali.

"You mean he didn't tell you?" Pedro asked, shock showing clear in his voice, eyes widening when she shook her head slowly, "not that I'm surprised, he almost keeled over in shock when he got the news."

"What news?" Ali asked, slightly insulted that he didn't confide in her, but then, maybe he just needed time to think.

"His and Tony's parents are in town," Tia told her, watching with some amusement as the canary's eyes widened, her body stiffening. They had both heard the stories about the parents, none of them good, but both knew the boys had to face them eventually, it was the only way of answering long unanswered questions and hopefully putting to rest years of bitterness.

"What's the deal with their parents anyway?" Pedro couldn't help but ask, "I haven't really heard much, all I know is that Nico used to be a pet and fell out the cage."

The two girls stared at him, eyebrows raised. "He didn't fall out the cage," Tia said, looking ever so slightly bitter and angry, "he was thrown out." Pedro turned to her, completely stunned and speechless.

"We don't know why," Ali continued, the cardinal turning to her, beak hanging open, which would have been funny had the situation been a little less serious, "I guess that's what they want to find out, if they find them."

"Ali?"

Their moment of seriousness was broken when the canary's name was called, and she turned, coming face to face with a red and black bird. She stared at him for a moment, his name on the tip of her tongue, but just out of reach.

"Francis?" she asked, looking very unsure.

"Franco," the bird corrected with a slightly strained smile.

"Oh right," Ali gave a fake laugh, inwardly rolling her eyes, "close enough, what do you want?"

"I was flying past, and I couldn't help but hear you were looking for Nico," Franco smiled, "I saw him not too long ago, sitting on his own, I can take you there if you want," he offered, holding out a wing. Ali just looked at the offered appendage sceptically, then up at Franco, one eyebrow raised and a deeply unimpressed look on her face. He pulled his wing back awkwardly, looking away.

"I'll just see him when he gets back," Ali said, "he's going through a hard time right now, I'll go and look for him if he's not back by this evening, but he probably just needs time alone to think."

"Alright then," Franco mumbled, "just thought I'd offer, guess I'll see you around?"

"Yeah yeah sure," Ali half-heartedly agreed, waving as she turned back to Tia and Pedro, both of whom were wearing identical smirks. There was silence for a few moments as Franco took off, obviously feeling rather uncomfortable, something Ali was an expert at making people feel. Then Tia spoke up, her voice smug.

"He so likes you!" she said, trying hard not to laugh.

"What?" Ali seemed confused by the concept, "please, he's an idiot."

"You're acting as if it's not possible for anyone to fall in love with you," Tia said, crossing her wings as she walked up to her best friend, who just furrowed her brow and pouted, still looking rather confused.

"Honestly, he's just nervous around me cause the last time I saw him I scared the living daylights out of him," she scoffed, shaking her head.

"While that may be true," Pedro said, "he's definitely trying to get you girl! I mean, it's obviously not possible and you are doing a brilliant job at scaring him away, but he definitely likes you."

"Never going to happen," Ali said, shrugging, though a hint of smug smile was beginning to show through, "besides, he's an obnoxious twat who seems to think he's from the eighteen-hundreds, honestly I want nothing to do with him."

"That's what we want to hear," Tia grinned, clapping her wings, "now, who's up for a late lunch, I haven't had anything yet and I'm starving."

Pedro looked away for a moment, listening to the two girls chat about good places to go for lunch. He couldn't stop thinking about Nico, he should probably find him, talk to him, or just distract him from the situation at hand. He knew Ali said he probably needed time to think, but Pedro knew how he ticked, and he probably just wants to let out some steam, otherwise he'll end up bottling it up ready to explode later.

"Actually I need to find Rafael," He said, quickly thinking up an excuse, "so you ladies can cut me out of your plans, I'll see you later?"

"Alright," Tia said, fluttering over and kissing him lightly, "say hi for me," she whispered, "and cheer him up, they're not worth it." Pedro raised his eyebrows at her, amazed at how she could see right through him.

"Will do."

* * *

It took an hour and a half for Pedro to finally find Nico, and about an hour in, he was really beginning to worry about his best friend. He had checked all their usual places, all the places he knew the canary usually went when he needed to calm down or just clear his head. But nothing.

He stopped near the end of Ipanema beach in a slightly less populated area, staring out towards the ocean, deep in thought. He'd been everywhere, the Alley, the statue, Ralfy's, even the macaw's place. There were a few nooks and crannies that Nico liked to think were secret, but Pedro knew about them anyway. They were next on the list of places to look.

But it turns out he didn't need to as a tiny, tiny flash of yellow caught his eye. If he wasn't looking for it, he was sure to have missed it. There, sat right on the edge of a rock further out to sea, was Nico.

With a small smile, Pedro took off towards him.

* * *

He was still finding it hard to get his head around.

They didn't care about him. His own flesh and blood parents genuinely didn't want him. They were willing to throw him out, a child who couldn't yet look after himself, to die, just to make sure they didn't get sold. And Tony, well, Tony was the golden child apparently. Not that he was bitter or anything. How could he be? He's had a dream life since being found by Rafael all those years ago.

But then, he always used to dream about his parents. At first it was the nightmares, back when he could still remember clearly what happened. Then, after a year or two, he managed to block out the memories, and by the time four years had passed, it was like it had never happened, he'd completely forgotten. The only hint they had even existed was in snippets of dreams, there in the background, details blurred, but now he thought about it, very much _there_.

And now they blamed him for almost being sold, for losing Tony. The memories he had long, long since repressed had been haunting him ever since finding his brother, and while he would trade the discovery for the world, it physically hurt to know that they didn't love him, that they cared so little about him they were willing to sacrifice his _life_ in order to stay 'together'.

They never cared about him, and chances are they never would.

"Nico?"

His head snapped up when a voice broke through his thoughts and he whirled around, looking up at Pedro, who was standing behind him with a sympathetic smile. Nico sighed, putting on a smile for his friend.

"Hey buddy, what's up?"

Pedro raised his eyebrows, "you sure you should be the one asking that?" he asked, watching how Nico's smile fell for a moment, and he saw all the pain flicker in his dark brown eyes. With a sigh he sat next to the canary, "I feel like we haven't had any proper 'bro' time in ages, it's been insane since you got back, we've both got the girls, and the competition to practice for. Seriously, when was the last time we got to hang out, just us, that wasn't practice?"

Nico couldn't help but laugh a little, "who knows? You're right though, it's been a while."

Silence fell for a few moments as Pedro examined his friend's expression, his vacant eyes staring out to the horizon. He obviously wasn't focusing on the conversation.

"You wanna talk about what happened today?"

Nico turned to him, expression completely fallen, "not really," he muttered, looking down at the water gently hitting the rocks below, "it's all I've been thinking about since last night, I just need..." he trailed off, searching for the word that was on the tip of his tongue.

"A distraction?"

Nico nodded slowly, closing his eyes. "Yeah, just anything to-"

"You should have seen the twins this morning," Pedro cut him off, and Nico looked up at him, shock written clear over his face, though the hints of a thankful smile were beginning to show through, "seriously, they did the funniest thing."

"Oh really?" Nico said, smiling fully now as he listened to the story, wondering how he had managed to get such a good friend, someone who cared about him and how he was feeling, who had so much faith in him.

That's when it hit him. If he had stayed with his parents, yes he would have Tony, but everyone else, Pedro, Rafael and the toucans, the Macaws, Tia, Cosette, Ali, everyone, he wouldn't know them, he never would have met any of them. He tried to think about how different things would have been if his real parents loved him the way they loved Tony, before realising that he couldn't. He simply could not imagine how life would be without the amazing; if slightly crazy and dysfunctional family he had around him.

The two birds chatted and laughed, talking about anything and everything, carefully avoiding the subject of parents, right up until the sun began to set.

"I should head back," Nico said finally, wiping the tears from his eyes, trying to calm his laughter, "I haven't talked to Ali about all this yet, and she's probably wondering where I am."

"I wouldn't worry too much," Pedro smiled, "we kinda had to tell her when she came looking for you earlier, but she was fairly understanding, I think she's out with Tia right now."

"Oh," Nico looked a little scared, she would probably be mad at him for not telling her, but 'fairly understanding' was good enough for him, "alright then, either way, I really want to go to bed, so let's just hope she's not mad because I didn't tell her."

"Here's to hoping," Pedro grinned, "oh, before we go," he waited until Nico had turned to look at him before pulling the smaller bird into a tight hug, "don't listen to a thing they say, you're worth so much more than that, and besides, you have us," he pulled away, grinning down at the stunned canary, "all of us."

Nico stared at him for a moment, shocked speechless. Then he smiled, a small laugh escaping.

"Thank you."

* * *

"How's the plan coming along?"

The director growled, slamming his wing against the wall in frustration.

"I think it's time to take a different route," he said in a low voice, staring bitterly at the floor, "she's not an easy one to break, she'll never betray him."

"I don't think he'll betray her either, it's a mutual thing," the other said, wincing and drawing back when the director turned his dark glare on him, "s-so, what are you going to do?"

The smaller stayed silent for a moment, staring out to the busy workforce putting up the huge stage. It was manic, hundreds of birds working to get it done in time. With only a week to go, things were beginning to come together, but at the same time, panic that it wasn't going to be finished was beginning to set in, making them work even harder. Always something the Director liked to see.

"We make her think he's cheating," he said with a dark smile, "at the very least flirting, I have a feeling it'll be easier to break her trust than the other way round."

"You wanted to see me sir?" another voice, soft, melodic and sensual, came from the doorway and the two birds turned to see a female bird leaning against the door frame, a wicked smirk on her beak.

The director turned to the large bird, an amused smile playing on his mouth, "get your tongue back in your beak, she's way out of your league," he smirked, walking over to the girl, who was slight bit smaller than him, "Angelique, my darling," he said, and she laughed, allowing him to softly kiss her held out wing, "I hope you had a pleasant journey."

"Of course I did," she giggled, "you know I will accept nothing but the best in travel, I got a cruise ship from Calais."

"Perfect, now, I believe you have a job to do."

"I want half my payment now," Angelique said, her smile dropping and her face adopting a business-like expression, "and the other half after, as we agreed."

"Of course my angel," the director smiled, taking a few steps and pulling a tiny ring on the floor, which lifted a floorboard, revealing a small hole. He reached in and pulled out a small object, wrapped in brown cloth. He handed it to Angelique, who quickly lifted a corner to check the contents, smiling with satisfaction.

"Thank you," she said, nodding in approval, "I can guarantee the job will be done by the end of tomorrow night," she smirked, giving a little wave as she sashayed out the room.

"Perfect."

* * *

**A/N: That was hard to write O.o I had originally planned to put the whole 'meet the parents' scene in Flying Home, but there was already enough going on, so this scene was out of context from my original plan. Actually, now I think about it, the sequel seems to made up mostly of things I wanted to put in FH but had to cut out :P**

**So they finally meet the parents, Nico and Pedro finally get a scene together and the Director gets a new plan, and a new accomplice :) What will happen now ...**

**I hope you all enjoyed :) Please drop a review and tell me what you think, it's always lovely to hear what you think :) Have a wonderful week and I'll be back soon :D**


	5. Make or Break?

**The Secret of Chaos**

* * *

"Come on Nico, time to get up."

"No."

"Oh please, it's really nice out."

"It's always nice out."

"Nicer?"

"Hmm."

"Come on! Everyone else is awake."

"I don't follow trends."

"Oh really?"

"Uh-huh, Consciousness is overrated."

Silence followed, and Nico thought for a moment that Ali had given up and was just going to leave him there. He was just about to curl back up and drift back to sleep.

Oh how wrong he was.

The next thing he knew, he'd landed face first on the floor with a 'thump', pain blooming quickly in his head as it hit the hard wood floor. He let out a long groan, flipping onto his back and rubbing his sore forehead, suddenly incredibly thankful for the feathers, otherwise the bruise that was bound to be forming would be rather embarrassing and difficult to explain.

"Thanks darling," he bit out, his tone dripping with sarcasm as he sat up, wincing as a sharp pain shot through his head.

"What can I say? Everyone's already heading down the beach, and Pedro was insistent that I make sure you were up and we all head down together. Not sure why," she looked to the entrance, where everyone was gathered.

Nico sighed, the pain already beginning to dull, "I do," he muttered, "guess I should have seen that one coming," he allowed her to pull him to his feet, both smiling a little, "and a very good morning to you too," he grinned, kissing her lightly on the beak. Ali just rolled her eyes, fluttering over to the entrance, glancing back over her shoulder with a smirk.

"Come on, I believe you said you were going to help us against the kids in battle this time," she said, laughing lightly.

* * *

They lost.

Spectacularly.

"Well, that was fun," Miyoko dropped to the hot sand, breathing hard. Tia fell next to her, panting, Tony on her other side.

"Seriously," Tia pushed herself up on her wings, looking out to see where Adriana, Nico, Pedro and Ali were still being massacred, "are we ever going to win? We've even had Adriana, Nico and Tony added to our ranks. Where are the twins when you actually need them?"

"Please," Miyoko winced as Nico was pulled under, "The only thing Nico can do is pull the big brother card, and so far Tony's been useless," she ignored his indignant look, "no offence honey. But I do feel sort of bad for bailing on them."

"I'll be amazed if they make it out alive," Tony said, laughing as the four birds left out there ended up back to back, surrounded.

"Maybe we should go back," Tia suggested, "we could make it sound as if it was our plan all along, lull them into thinking they've won, then charge back in."

"We could be killed," Tony cried, looking over in shock.

"You know," Miyoko said, catching a glimpse of the glare the cornered group seemed to be giving them, "I think we might be killed either way."

"Let's go down with dignity," Tia cheered, taking to the air and hovering somewhere above them, waiting for the couple to join her. The two glanced at each for a moment, before grinning and pushing themselves up and into the air.

With a loud battle cry the three birds launched themselves back into the fight. The four still battling on looked up in shock as the three birds dropped into the fight, and even the toucans faltered at the sudden reappearance. But it wasn't enough, they were still vastly outnumbered, and were overpowered within minutes.

"Well screw that," Ali mumbled bitterly as they all staggered out the water, dripping wet and exhausted. Behind them the Toucans cheered in victory, jumping up and down, flipping and rolling through the air.

"Nico, I now see how you deal with the twins so well," Adriana said, looking incredibly impressed.

"Please," Nico countered, rolling his eyes, "the twins are nothing compared to the destructive force that are Ralfy's kids."

"And are you not part of that force?" Rafael's voice drifted from where he and the macaws were sunbathing, "I thought you would be on our side in the fight."

"Well yeah," Nico said, shrugging, "never said I wasn't, but in this case, it's probably safer to stick with these guys." The group all stopped and looked at him like he was absolutely insane, to which Nico just raised his eyebrows, "oh come on, you know if I was on their side you lot would just gang up on me."

Several opened their beaks to deny the 'outrageous' accusation, but none of them could. They would gang up on him, no doubt about it.

"So who's up for the Alley tonight?" Miyoko asked, averting the direction of the conversation.

"Oh yeah," Ali said, turning to Nico, "you're off the medication now, so you can join the rest of us in the drinking."

Nico just looked at her with a surprised smirk, "I don't drink anyway," he said, laughing a little at the shocked expressions on the faces of the group around him, save Pedro, who already knew.

"Seriously?" Tia couldn't help but ask.

"Yeah, completely tee-total," Nico smiled, chuckling.

"Yeah, total lightweight," Pedro snickered, a sound that was cut short when a dark glare was shot in his direction, "Oh, there's a new singer on tonight, she's meant to be amazing," he said, quickly changing the subject, "at least, that's what I was told, she's Paris's entry for the competition, so it may be a good idea for us to go."

"Yeah, scope out the competition and all that," Nico agreed, smirking, "wait, Paris?"

"I know exactly what you're thinking, and no, she came on her own apparently, if anyone's coming to support they'll be coming separately," Pedro grinned, rolling his eyes at Nico's hopeful expression.

They all knew about Cosette and Nico. The two birds had a very special relationship and it was a subject they rarely bought up, knowing how much he missed the French bird. The pair kept in contact, as promised, but it was hard, between time differences and busy lifestyles on both ends it was common that they could go weeks before getting a reply. In her last message she had hinted about coming down for the competition, but so far, nothing else was heard.

"Worth a shot," he shrugged, a small smile on his beak.

"So," Tia said, clapping her wings together, "to the club?"

* * *

The Alley was, as usual, crowded, but this evening it was almost impossible to breathe, much less move.

"I don't know who this girl is, but she's damn popular," Pedro commented, squeezing through a gap to get to the group.

"No kidding," Nico said, looking around the space suddenly crammed to the brink with so many birds. They did have a limit on how many they could let in, and he briefly wondered how the heck they even managed to get in. He was currently squashed in between Tony and Pedro.

Suddenly the lights dimmed, throwing the club into darkness, save one single spotlight resting on the stage.

"_Underneath the city lights,"_ A smooth, strong feminine voice broke through the silence that had fallen, "_there is a world few know about, where rules don't apply, no, and you can't keep a good girl down." _

Whistles echoed throughout the room as a small bird slinked into the spotlight, jazz-like music filling the room. Her feathers were smooth and shiny, a dark red colour, with splashes of black over her wings. Bright baby blue eyes looked out to the crowd under long lashes, and the sexy smirk on her beak caused one bird at the front to collapse in a dead faint. She was a tiny thing, probably around the same size as any one of the canaries, but her voice was incredibly powerful for such a small bird.

"_She going through the club looking for a good time__, __gonna make that__, __shake that__, __money on the dime__, __don't need a sugar daddy__, __she'll be working it just fine__, __up on the table__, __she'll be dancing all night."_

Lights lit up the rest of the stage, showing four dancers, all of a similar size, but each a different colour, blues, reds, greens and yellows, diamantes glittering in their feathers.

"_Hee-eey! Babydoll just come alive__, __under the spotlight__, __all the girls wanna fall in line," _the singer joined in on the complex dance, all the while singing in perfect pitch. "_We say__He-eh-eh-hey__, __Here come the ladies bout to give a little show__, __He-eh-eh-hey__, __Here comes the boozie gonna show a little more."_

Pedro glanced down at Nico, who was staring at the stage in absolute horror. "We're screwed aren't we?" he asked, looking back to the stage. Nico dropped his face into his wings.

"Oh yeah, screwed is one word."

"_Hit it up, get it up__, __Won't let you rest__, __Hit it up, get it up__, __This is not a test__, __Hit it up, get it up__, __Gotta give me your best__, __So get your hands up__, __Show me how you burlesque," _the dancers flew up and spread out, landing on some of the higher levels on the boxes, dancing up a storm, leaving the lead singer centre stage. _"Hit it up, get it up__, __Won't let you rest__, __Hit it up, get it up__, __This is not a test__, __Hit it up, get it up__, __Gotta give me your best__, __So get your hands up__, __Show me how you burlesque."_

They flew back, and the five girls froze, wings in the air and posed. Everything was silent for a moment, the only sound was the tapping of feet and a few wolf-whistles.

"Ok girls, let's show 'em how it's done," she spoke this time, her voice low and smooth, her bright eyes sparkling in the lights, "It ain't over till we say, And we've only just begun."

She strutted forward, "_Lemme hear you say __yeah, yeah, yeah,"_ the music echoed her voice, "_Say_ _yeaah, yeah yeah yeah__, __Say yeah yeah yeaah__, __Say yeaah yeah yeah_," she struck a pose, one wing on her hip, the other in the air, all was silent, her powerful voice echoing around the room.

"_Hit it up, get it up__, __Won't let you rest__, __Hit it up, get it up__, __This is not a test__, __Hit it up, get it up__, __Gotta give me your best__, __So get your hands up__, __Show me how you burlesque. Hit it up, get it up__, __Won't let you rest__, __Hit it up, get it up__, __This is not a test__, __Hit it up, get it up__, __Gotta give me your best__, __So get your hands up__, __Show me how you burlesque."_

The room was thrown into darkness, and it was quiet for a few moments.

Then the crowd practically exploded, the cheers and wolf-whistles almost deafening.

But in amongst it all was a small group of birds who were still staring at the stage, frozen with shock and horror.

"Well crap," Nico broke the silence, swallowing thickly with wide eyes.

"Oh she was good," Tia said, "you two really need to get your act together, literally and figuratively."

"What are you saying?" Pedro accused, looking down at her, insulted.

"I'm not saying you two aren't amazing," Tia looked up at her boyfriend, expression apologetic and ever so slightly guilty, "but she's got everything, the voice, the dancing, and the backup. Plus she's really popular already, and not just with the French lot, that may definitely tip the scales in her favour."

Nico let out a deep sigh, dragging a wing down his face, "I'm going to get something to drink, anyone want anything?"

They all gave their orders, Nico committing them to memory before turning to fight through the tight crowd. Flying was out of the question, there were so many birds in the air he would probably be knocked to the ground within seconds. So he somehow managed to push his way through the throng of birds.

"Hey Nico," a woman's voice caught his attention when he reached the bar and he saw, with some happiness, Jayne, the eccentric bartender. She was one of those birds who just loved to talk, about anything and everything, "the usual for your group?"

"Yeah, just the usual," Nico smiled, leaning against the bar, looking around at the busy club while Jayne fixed their drinks, unable to talk when it was so busy, he couldn't help but notice that nobody quite as interested in the next act as the last.

"Excuse me?" another voice broke him out of his thoughts, but when he turned around, he almost fell over in shock. Looking hesitant and a little nervous, was the singer that had just wowed hundreds of birds. "Sorry, are you Nico?" she asked, tilting her head to one side.

"Uh," he was speechless for a moment, but quickly found his voice, smiling warmly, "yeah, that's me, sorry I didn't get your name."

"It's Angelique," she said, acting surprisingly shy for someone who was so confident up on the stage, "you're performing in the competition I hear," she said.

"Yeah, me and Pedro, it's been something like a lifelong dream for both of us," he laughed a little, "you are too?"

"Sort of, it's not so much of a big thing for me," she said, moving forward to lean against the bar next to him, "I do the big stages a lot."

"Really?" he looked impressed, "how did you get into doing that sort of thing then?"

"Ah, well," Angelique gave an embarrassed smile, rubbing the back of her neck, "I got picked up a few years back by Prism, they're sort of like my agent, if they need someone to do a slot in a show, they just call. Which is how I got the opening act for the competition."

"Wait, you're the opening act?" she nodded, "you're not actually competing?" a shake of the head and a confused expression as Nico let out a big sigh of relief, laughing a little, "well, that clears a lot of things up. We were kind of having a 'oh crap' moment when you were singing just now. No way could we compete against you."

"Aw, well aren't you sweet," Angelique smiled wide, shuffling a little closer, something Nico failed to notice as he turned to pick up his drink, the only one yet done, "hey I was wondering," she started, chewing her lower beak slightly, "you live here right?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, I only got here yesterday and haven't really seen much of the city yet, and I just know I'll probably get lost, I was just wondering if you wouldn't mind maybe giving me a tour, or something?" she asked, looking up at him from under long lashes.

"Uh, well," he leaned back a little, suddenly noticing how close she had gotten, "I don't know, it's only four days to the competition, and I have a lot of..." he trailed off, suddenly feeling quite flustered and a little confused, "um, sorry, but are you flirting?"

Angelique pulled back a little, shocked he had even noticed, "maybe," she shrugged, trying to act nonchalant about it.

"You do know I have a girlfriend right?"

She raised an eyebrow, looking doubtful, though a smirk was growing on her beak, "what she doesn't know won't hurt her," she said in a low voice, shimmying a little closer, frowning when he leaned away, "please," she rolled her eyes, "I've heard a lot about you and your 'girlfriend'," she hissed, "it sounds to me like it's not real, you never act like you're together in public."

"What's that got to do with anything?" Nico asked, wondering how the conversation had taken such a sudden turn. He should probably get back. Then he saw the way she quickly glanced to her left and smirked, and he was about to turn to see what she was looking at, when suddenly her wing was around the back of his head and her beak on his, kissing him forcefully. It took a moment or two for it to actually sink in, and he had to grab the hard wood of the bar to keep from falling over. Though her wings around his neck would have easily stopped that.

He pushed away, pulling her wings off of him.

"What the hell?" he gasped, taking several steps backwards. There was something incredibly smug, and somewhat sinister about the wide smirk on her beak. She didn't even have to say anything for Nico to know that something was very, very wrong. He spun to the right, seeing, with absolute horror, a very familiar figure pushing through the crowds, away from him.

Ali.

He spun back to Angelique, who was examining her feathers with a indifferent expression, but then realised it didn't matter. The damage was done. All he could do now was somehow try to fix things, explain it all to Ali, and just hope she would understand.

There was nothing more to say to Angelique, so he just left her standing by the bar, completely forgetting about the drinks and went after Ali, who was completely lost in the crowd by this point. He had one hope; find the group, hopefully she was headed back there. If not, at least it was a starting point.

Either way, he had to find her.

"Nico! There you are," Tony said as he burst through the crowd, panting, "where're the drinks?"

"Anyone seen Ali?" Nico asked, completely ignoring his brother.

"No, she went to help you," Miyoko explained, "what happened?" Several of the others nodded in agreement, all looking quite concerned.

"I'll give you the brief overview," Nico started, taking a deep breath, "you know the girl singing earlier? Well, she came up to me at the bar and started chatting, by the way she's not competing, she's the opening act," Pedro let out a sigh of relief, "but, well, let's just say she has no concept of personal space," he said, looking panicked, eyes darting round the room, desperately looking for the familiar flash of yellow in the crowd

"What do you mean?" Tony asked, confused.

"She kissed me," Nico said bluntly, swallowing thickly at the way they all suddenly looked at him, several beaks dropping in shock, "she kissed me and Ali saw, and I need to find her, and...and...shit," he dropped his face into his wings, trying to calm his now frantic breathing.

"Nico calm down," Tia's voice made him look up, seeing her standing right in front of him, her expression sympathetic and determined, wings on his shoulders, "I want you to take deep breaths alright?" he nodded, obeying her command. "Now listen to me, I believe you, you didn't do anything wrong, she came onto you, I know you would never do anything like that, especially not to Ali. If I know Ali, she'll either be at her usual spot on the beach, or she would have gone straight home, probably to wait for you. Now you are going to go and find her and explain everything," she demanded, and Nico nodded weakly, "meanwhile, I think I might have to have a word with this girl," she finished, glaring in the direction of the bar.

Nico couldn't help but raise an eyebrow, his expression doubtful, "meaning?"

Tia sighed, dropping her head, "meaning shit's about to go down," she growled, "I suggest you lot stay far away. Now get going, get it over with."

Nico nodded, taking a deep breath and taking off towards to exit, bursting out into the cool evening air, flying as fast as he could towards home. It took him half the usual time to get back.

"Ali?" he panted, looking around the dark hollow. Silence followed, and he was about to assume she wasn't there when he heard a sniff from the other side of the room, "Ali, please," he said, squinting into the darkness, "you have to listen to me."

"Why the hell should I?" Ali asked, taking a few steps forward out of the blackness. Her expression was cold and angry, but there were very obvious tear stains down her cheeks, "I saw everything."

"No you didn't," Nico pleaded, "you didn't see the half of it, I tried to tell her, but she just kept talkin-"

"So what, you just kissed her to shut her up?" Ali asked, crossing her wings over her chest and trying to glare a hole through his head.

"What? No, she kissed me!" Nico argued, "please believe me."

"You hardly tried to push her away," Ali said, raising an eyebrow, "it looked more like a two way thing to me."

"It was nothing like that, I didn't exactly see it coming."

"Yeah, I could see you _so_ didn't want it to happen," she said, sarcasm dripping off her tongue, "oh who the hell am I kidding?" she scoffed, rolling her eyes, "every guy in the room wanted her, all she had to was flutter those eyelashes and she could have had anyone."

"Not anyone," Nico said, frowning. He always knew Ali could be unreasonable and stubborn, but this was ridiculous. She just snorted in disbelief, turning her head away, staring angrily at the floor, pulling her wings tighter around herself.

"And what about all those other girls?" she asked, trying to sound collected, but the bitterness shone through. She sighed at his confused expression, "please, I know you're 'popular' and all, but you've almost always got girls flirting in one way or another with you, it's not like this was a one time thing."

Nico just gaped at her, completely gobsmacked at the accusation.

"Ali please, none of them mean anything to me, you know that," he explained, trying to get her to look at him.

"And I don't know if I can believe that anymore," she said quietly. Nico sighed, closing his eyes against the nightmare that seemed to be playing out.

"Well maybe, if you would actually let people know we were together, that wouldn't happen," he bit out, keeping his eyes closed, not really wanting to see her reaction. He did however, hear a low growl.

"And what are you trying to say here exactly?" Ali asked, her voice sickly sweet. Nico knew it was a trick question deep in the back of his mind, and he knew he would be kicking himself later for what was about to come out of his beak.

"I'm starting to think you're ashamed of being seeing with me or something, it's like you don't even care about this relationship anymore, about _us_."

Yes, he regretted it the moment he said it, but there was no way of taking it back now. He had to somehow roll with it. If there was a way of rolling with it.

"What?" the pitch of her voice was so high Nico briefly wondered how he was still able to hear, "how the hell can you say that? You know I-" she stopped, closing her eyes and taking a deep, calming breath, "you know what? Not anymore."

"What?"

"I _don't_ care anymore. Simple as that," she said bluntly, giving him a look that just screamed 'I-dare-you-to-argue'.

"Are you saying that this is over?" Nico asked, completely stunned. This was not how he wanted this to go.

"You pretty much decided that back at the club," Ali said, shrugging, looking at him with the perfect poker face.

"For the last time, she came onto me! Not the other way around!" he argued.

Ali gave a short and sarcastic laugh, rolling her eyes, "please, you're not exactly god's gift to women, you know that right?" she raised an eyebrow, "look, just...just get out okay," she sighed, turning away from him, "I don't want to talk about this anymore."

Nico looked at her, expression one of despair and disbelief. Neither said another word to each other as Nico turned around, with one final glace over his shoulder, and took off into the night. He didn't know where he was going, or even what he was going to do when he got there, but he did know that he needed a moment of quiet to just get his thoughts together, to figure out what the heck just happened.

She broke up with him.

They just broke up.

The realisation hit him like a ton of bricks and he actually had to stop on a branch, breathing hard and feeling a lump rise in his throat. Tears pricked at his eyes and all he could feel was utter hopelessness. It was over.

Now what?

There was only one place he really felt like going.

After a short flight, he landed at the entrance to a familiar hollow. It was still fairly early so most of the occupants were still awake.

"Hey Ralfy?" he called, poking his head in. The bird in question looked over, smiling happily, though this quickly dropped off at the look on his son's face. He frowned and tilted his head in question. "can I - uh - stay here tonight?"

Rafael smiled a little, holding out a wing in invitation, "of course you can," he said as Nico hopped down and took a few steps into the room, ducking to avoid a flying mini-toucan aiming to tackle him to the ground, as was their usual greeting, "the only question is why?"

Nico sighed sadly, "Ali and I kinda had a fight," he said quietly, once again looking like he just wanted to burst into tears, "as you can probably tell, it didn't end well."

"Uh-oh," the larger bird said with a grimace. Then he smiled, cocking his head as an indication for the smaller to come closer. He pulled Nico in close, hugging him tightly, and the smaller bird just broke, burying his face into his soft feathers, openly and silently crying. Eva chose that moment to enter the room, freezing with wide eyes when she saw the scene, her husband comforting her oldest son, and their remaining kids flying and running wild around the room, completely oblivious.

"Kids! Bed! Now!" she called out to the hyper children running rampant. They all moaned and groaned, whining about not wanting to go to bed yet. "Don't care," Eva snapped, frowning, "get in and go to bed!"

It took several minutes to get them all in, one or two deciding to be rebellious and refusing to go. But eventually they were all tucked in and dozing off, and Eva could go back in to find out what had happened.

"You want to tell me what happened?" Rafael was asking as she came out into the main room. Nico sat down, leaning against him miserably.

"Not really," he murmured, "it's all a big mess," he sighed, rubbing his eyes tiredly, "I'm just hoping I'll go to sleep and when I wake up it will all be one big nightmare."

"Oh sweetie," Eva muttered, smiling sympathetically, "whatever it was, it's going to be okay, you'll see."

"And if not," Rafael continued, looking down at Nico, who was staring at the floor, playing with his hat absentmindedly, "well, I guess it just wasn't meant to be."

Nico tried to swallow the lump in his throat. That was the whole problem, it _was_ meant to be. She was the perfect one for him. Yes she was difficult, stubborn, a little violent, sarcastic and completely sassy, but oh was she worth it. They balanced each other out, they didn't have the same interests, Nico was into performing, Ali loved her metalwork, and that's what made things so interesting. They played around and teased each other, both knowing that at the end of the day they didn't really mean a word of it. They knew they loved each other more than anything without even having to say it. Every time he was around her it just felt so perfect, so right. And now...

He bent over, burying his face in his wings, tears once again springing from his eyes, finding he was powerless to stop them.

Now what?

* * *

**A/N: Uh oh o.O So it seems the director succeeded in his plan, what now? **

**I had a minor panic attack with this chapter yesterday after I had written most of it, and forgot to save, went to save and shut down, and the whole thing froze! D: I couldn't get anything to work and had to forcefully shut down the computer :/ Thankfully it had autosaved and only a few lines had been cut off, but I swear I was having a heart attack at the time.**

**Next chapter will look more at Ali's point of view, and a look at what some of the others think of it all, and then with the competition getting close, things really do get chaotic.**

**Oh, I almost forgot...The song was 'Show Me How You Burlesque' by Christina Aguilera from the film 'Burlesque' :) (I wanted to use 'Express' but decided it was probably a little _too_ risqué :P) **

**I hope you all enjoyed, I've just gotten in from a long shift at work (goodness knows how I managed to come home and write rather than just dropping dead on my sofa), so I'm going to sleep, please do review and give me something nice to wake up to tomorrow morning :) (where I have another stupid shift *sigh*) Everyone have a lovely day/night/whatever :)**


	6. Will It Work?

**A/N: Just an advance warning. This chapter is slightly confusing, I suggest reading while wide awake and not just after you wake up. I tried to make it less so, but it just wasn't as interesting ;P**

* * *

**The Secret of Chaos**

* * *

How could this happen?

Everything had been going so perfectly.

It had taken a long time, but she had finally found someone she could love, someone she could trust and who would ever betray her or go behind her back. He knew she didn't trust easy. He knew how much convincing it took to make her believe in him. And yet this was actually happening.

He'd betrayed her. Kissed another girl behind her back.

Ali sighed, dropping her head back to her pillow and looking around the empty hollow. It seemed to big now, too cold. She didn't know where he went last night, but he didn't come back, and she couldn't help but wish he would, or at least someone else. It was _too_ empty.

She turned on her side, curling up and pulling her pillow over her face, just wanting to scream.

Screw that.

She didn't want to see anyone right now.

How could he?

Yeah he'd said it was that girl, he didn't do anything, and while some part of her believed that, the rest of her, the slightly more irrational part, was just screaming at her to run, get out while you still can, and don't look back.

Her emotions were torn. The half that believed him just wanted to run back into his arms and hold him and kiss him like she never wanted to let him go again. But the rest? Yeah that half just wanted to punch him in the face.

And so far the second half seemed to be winning.

"Ali?"

She groaned, pressing her face deeper into her pillow, curling up tighter and trying to block out the world.

"Please don't take this personally," she muttered, closing her eyes tightly, "but piss off."

The intruder just gave a short laugh, "hell no."

"Tia, please, I don't want to talk to anyone."

There was silence for a moment, and Ali didn't even have to look to know the expression on her best friends face. It was definitely one of her infamous 'bitch, please' looks and she knew that she wasn't going to get away from her until she had given every last detail on what had happened and how she was feeling.

With a tired groan and a roll of her eyes, the canary sat up, glaring at Tia, who just raised an eyebrow at her mussed up feathers and red and puffy eyes. But before she could say anything to comfort her friend, Ali got in there first.

"Bloody hell Tia!" she exclaimed, eyes widening, "what the hell happened to you?"

Tia laughed a little, gently touching the still rather tender black eye she was sporting, "I got into a little tussle last night," she grinned, looking rather proud of herself, "I won, but damn can that girl fight. Besides," she shrugged, "she started it."

"Oh, tell me you didn't," Ali started, looking shocked as she shook her head. Then she stopped, thinking about it for a moment, "actually, screw that, this is why I love you."

"Thought you might agree," Tia laughed, "now squish over, you and I need to have a little talk," she said, crawling into the nest next to her and sitting so they were face to face.

"No we don't," Ali muttered, crossing her wings over her chest and pouting.

"Yes we do, and believe me, you are not the only one going through this 'torture'," Tia said, raising one eyebrow, "Pedro's got Nico and apparently he's being even more stubborn. At least you're talking to me. Now spill, what the hell happened last night?"

Ali gave a groan, dropping her head onto her friend's shoulder. She took a deep breath and launched into a detailed review of the previous night while Tia listened intently, nodding and making sympathetic noises every now and again to keep her going.

Eventually she reached the end of her spiel and they fell silent, Ali staring miserably at the ceiling and Tia deep in thought about how to go about talking about this.

"So what do you want to do now?" she eventually asked. This was Ali's decision after all, she was someone who needed to do her own thing, and would never go along with someone else's plan for her life. Whatever her decision, Tia could try and deter her later, right now she needed to be the neutral party.

She sighed, thinking hard. "I don't know," she said eventually, "I don't know what to believe, what to feel, it's all so confusing."

"I can understand that," Tia said, rubbing her back soothingly, "I wasn't there last night, I'm just going by what you've told me, but I think you need to talk to him, I don't think either of you were thinking rationally last night, you were angry, he was panicking, you weren't in your right mind."

Ali looked at her for a moment, beak opening and closing like she wanted to say something, but couldn't.

"I don't think I can face him just yet," she said, staring at the floor, "I still feel really angry about it all and chances are I'll probably end up punching him or something."

Tia nodded, "wouldn't want to ruin that pretty face," she said, smiling. Ali nodded in agreement, then started, suddenly realising what she was agreeing to. She rolled her eyes, playfully shoving Tia with a smirk.

"Have you...have you seen him?" she asked, the smirk dropping off her beak.

"Nico? Yeah, he's at the Toucans place, I went over with Pedro this morning to look for him," Tia explained, "he's miserable Ali, really, really upset about it all, he didn't sleep last night, and while it looks like you didn't either, you know what he's like," both girls shuddered at the thought, "I left when he started throwing things."

"I don't know Tia," Ali said, chewing on her lower beak, "even if he is telling the truth, and before you say anything, I'm fairly sure he is, what he said last night? That I don't care about this relationship? That hurt more than anything else," she sniffed, swallowing thickly and forcing back the tears that had sprung up.

Tia sighed, reaching forward and pulling her into a tight hug. "Oh, sweetie," she murmured soothingly, "listen, you were both angry at each other at that point, chances are you both said a lot of things you didn't mean." This was met with nothing but a few sniffs and a hiccup, "look, I can see you need some time to think about it, how about I go get us something to eat and leave you be until you're ready to come out."

Ali nodded, sitting back and rubbing her eyes. "Actually," she said, "I was thinking about heading down to the workshop, could you bring the food there, and then maybe, stay for a bit?"

"That I can do."

* * *

"I'm sure you all know why I've gathered you here today."

Silence filled the room as blank faces stared back.

Tia sighed, dropping her head into her wing, inwardly rolling her eyes. She had gathered together Pedro, Tony, Miyoko, Adriana (who did have a fair excuse for the blank stare), and, for some reason beyond her understanding, the twins.

"It's time to stage an intervention!" she exclaimed, slamming her fist on the makeshift table in front of her. The group 'oh'-ed, save Adriana, who was still sat with a confused expression until Pedro leant over and translated for her. The twins just smirked, as usual.

"Alright, as you all know, it's been two days since the big argument between Ali and Nico, and the competition is in a day and a half" Tia went on to explain, "Ali barely leaves the workshop, just making simple, mindless things that I know she could do with her eyes closed. I got her to talk at first, but since then she's just been drawing in on herself, and thinking far too much," she sighed, "I don't think she's quite ready to forgive and forget just yet."

"Nico's the same," Pedro said, "spending most of his time either with the toucans or sleeping. He won't talk about it though. Actually, he just won't talk. And the problem is we are nowhere near ready for the competition, if I can't get him out for one major rehearsal at some point today or tomorrow, I'm starting to think we should pull out."

"And no one wants that," Tia continued, "we need a plan to help them reconcile, to talk to each other and realise this was all one big misunderstanding."

"The only thing is what?" Tony asked, looking thoughtful.

"Lock them in a room together?" The twins suggested as one.

"I think that could cause more of a problem. She may actually try to kill him," Tia explained, wincing a little at the thought, "also I think if we openly tell them they're going to see each other, they'd refuse to go anywhere."

"We could take them out separately," Miyoko suggested, "then 'accidently' bump into each other. Maybe down to 'Rumours', we haven't been in a while, and the Alley was where the incident took place to begin with."

"They'd know it was us instantly," Pedro said, "it really could go either way. Either they'd just leave without talking, or, and this is the better option, at least for them, they'd join forces and kill us all."

"Well, whatever we choose to do, they'll know it was us trying to get them back together, so unless anyone has any other ideas," she paused, looking at each of them, waiting to see if any more suggestions would be put forward, "then we go with it, and we do it tonight."

"Alright! So what's the plan?" Tony asked, his enthusiastic grin matching hers.

* * *

'_Well, first things first, we need to get them to the club. Girls, we'll take Ali, boys, you have Nico. And the twins...um...you can go with the boys...oh stop your whining.'_

"Ali! Let's move, girls night out and you are coming!"

"Like hell!"

Tia raised an eyebrow at the yell coming from somewhere behind one of the worktops, her eyes narrowing.

"Aw come on!" Miyoko whined, "you need to get out, let's go party the night away," she shook her tail feathers, grinning.

Silence followed, and Tia, Miyoko and Adriana all waited anxiously for a response. For a moment they were sure she was going to say no, essentially ruining their plan. As amusing as it would be, Ali was not one that one would want drag kicking and screaming somewhere she didn't want to go. She had many items that could be used as weapons, and chances are she would use them.

"Will there be alcohol?"

The three girls smirked.

* * *

"Hey Ralfy!" Pedro called, grinning as he and Tony landed on the branch outside the toucan's hollow, "is Nico here?"

Rafael almost looked relieved at their arrival.

"Yeah," he said, smiling, just as Nico yelled out "NO!" from the back room. "Get him out of here," the older bird hissed, rolling his eyes, "please."

"That's kinda what we're here for," Tony winked, Pedro giving a mock-salute from behind him, "we're headed down to Rumours, just the guys."

If Rafael thought Tony's grin was a little too suspicious or that Pedro looked a bit too nervous for a 'night out', then he had enough common sense not to say anything, instead poking his head into the back room and practically dragging the reluctant canary out.

"Come on Nico, guy's night out, what do ya' say?" Pedro grinned, punching the smaller bird playfully on the wing. Nico just stared at him, wings crossed and a deeply unimpressed expression on his face that made the two boys feel rather uncomfortable.

"Do I really look like I'm in the mood to go out?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. The pair looked him up and down. It was true, he didn't look to be really in the right state of mind to be going anywhere that night. His feathers were rather mussed up, as if he had tossed and turned a lot while sleeping, and his eyes were tired and annoyed, and bad combination. They glanced at each other, exchanging a look of 'oh-crap', before smiling, stepping up on either side of him and putting their wings around his shoulders, leading him away.

"Nothing a quick bath and maybe a small drink can't help," Pedro grinned, glancing back at Rafael and winking. The older bird just laughed quietly at the whines and complaints coming from the canary, and the way the other two just ignored him completely.

* * *

'_Alright, next they gotta get relaxed, and by that I mean not whining to go home every few minutes. We gotta keep 'em separate for the first part of the evening, if they see each other too soon they'll know it was us instantly, and probably just leave. Try not to act too suspicious.'_

'Okay, so maybe this wasn't such a bad idea,' Ali thought as she sipped at her drink, bobbing her head to the music and just listening to Tia and Miyoko talk. She wasn't entirely sure what they were talking about, having zoned out about half an hour ago and completely lost track when she rejoined the conversation, but listening to their endless chatter was really helping her keep her mind off things.

Maybe this was just what she needed, an opportunity to clear her head and not think about Nico for once and tomorrow she could start with a fresh mind and figure out what to do then.

But then something caught her eye further down the bar and she actually had to hold in a groan.

She turned away, hoping he hadn't seen her, inwardly rolling her eyes.

"What's up?" Tia asked, and she sighed.

"Franco's back," she muttered, "alright, I'm deep in the conversation, keep talking."

* * *

"Keep talking about what?"

Nico rubbed the back of his neck nervously, "whatever it was you were talking about before, just don't let her come over- whoa! What the hell happened to her?" His beak dropped open as he got a full view of the once stunning bird who was standing with the dancer girls from the other night, a deep scowl on her face.

Pedro grinned, "have I ever told you how awesome my girlfriend is?"

"You mean the girlfriend right over there with Ali?" Nico asked, raising an eyebrow as Tony and Pedro spluttered and stumbled over their words. Nico just sighed, smiling a little and rolling his eyes, "I know what you're trying to do guys, I saw them the moment we got in," he smirked at the dropped open beaks, "I've told you this before, I'm more observant than people give me credit for. Look, I don't think this will work, but I'm willing to go along with it."

"But how did you know that was our plan?" Tony asked, smiling in relief that he wasn't going to try and skin them alive.

Nico shrugged, "honestly, I had no idea, thanks for confirming," he frowned as the pair shot worried glances at each other, "look, I'm grateful for what you're doing, but forcing this won't help," he paused, glancing through the crowd where he could see Ali leaning against the bar, and was that...Franco? "What's he doing here?" he muttered, more to himself than anyone else.

"He's one the higher ups in Prism," Pedro said, leaning over to see what Nico was seeing, "he sort of automatically gets entrance to all clubs, including this one."

Nico's frown deepened at he began speaking with Ali, then even more so when she actually responded with a smile. And what really made him worry was that he actually couldn't tell if it was a real or a fake, something he was usually quite adept at working out, even from a distance.

"You know, I'm starting to think that guy has a thing for her," he murmured.

"Oh, he does," a rather familiar, definitely feminine and smug voice made all three boys spin around.

* * *

'_Next step is to get them on the dance floor and bumping into each other, then all we can do is wait and hope for the best. Now, if something goes wrong, like they guess what we're doing and get annoyed or angry, or if they see each other and then decide to do something stupid out of spite, abort mission. For the former's case, just get out, run, as far away as possible and wait until they've calmed down, and in the latter's case, do the same but, and I cannot stress this enough. Drag. Them. With you.'_

"Alright Ali, I think it's time to go."

"I'm sorry, am I not allowed to talk to other guys now? Last I checked I was a free, single bird, and I am staying right here," Ali snapped, glaring at Tia, who actually took a step back, eyes wide with shock. There was a definite lace of anger and hurt in her voice not aimed at her, and the tanager suddenly knew exactly what the canary was trying to do.

"Ali please," she whispered, pleading, "this is going to make things worse, I know you're angry, but this is a mistake."

Dark blue eyes narrowed, "please, I know he's here, I saw him right across the room, I'm not going to do anything stupid like he did, I just," she paused, sighing deeply as she glanced across the dance floor, where she couldn't help but notice a certain beaten up, red and black bird standing with the group of boys, fluttering her long eyelashes with a smirk clear on her beak. She glowered at them, "want to get back at him a little," she bit out, spinning back to Franco, who was, by this point, looking just a little bit confused.

"Is everything okay?" he asked, voice full of sincerity as he gently placed a wing over hers on the bar. She immediately felt the urge to slap him, but somehow managed to repress it, forcing a smile onto her beak instead. She noticed the way his eyes lit up when she didn't draw away, and she had to swallow the distrust that was rising within her. There definitely was something very wrong about it all. And it wasn't just that it was someone other than Nico.

"Yeah," she murmured, a fake smile on her beak, "everything's...fine."

* * *

"Of course I know him, he's my agent you idiot," Angelique drawled, rolling her eyes in exasperation, "and yes, he does have a thing for that girl, but what are you going to do about it? You're not exactly her boyfriend."

"Why are you talking to me?" Nico asked, crossing his wings over his chest and glaring, Pedro and Tony glancing from one to the other with wide eyes like they were watching a tennis match.

Angelique didn't say anything, she just stared at him with one eyebrow raised and a unreadable look in her eyes. Nico growled quietly, dropping his head into his wing in frustration. This was all a big mess. How he wished he could just go back in time and stop everyone from going to the Alley that night. None of this would have happened. He would still be with Ali, they might actually be ready for the competition and life would still be good.

That was when he noticed the looks Tony and Pedro were giving each other, both of them panicked and scared. He started to turn, but Pedro shot out a wing to stop him.

"Yeah, you really don't want to do that man," the cardinal said, eyes wide with fear and dread. Nico swallowed hard, taking a deep breath and completely ignoring him, turning anyway. What he saw made him freeze, and he suddenly understood everything Ali was feeling the other night.

* * *

'_And if everything goes wrong and it turns out we've actually screwed things up further...um...I hear China's quite nice this time of year.'_

Suddenly she understood.

Tia's voice rang clear in her mind.

'_This is a mistake.'_

This _was_ a mistake.

The red and black bird in front of her had been getting steadily closer as he talked, not that she was actually listening to a word he was saying, inching forward, and he was now close enough that it would be so easy for him to just lean down and kiss her.

Which was exactly what he tried to do.

At the last minute she ducked out of the way, stepping to the side and tripping him, ignoring the way he fell face first into the ground, ignoring the groans, ignoring Tia and Miyoko rush over in worry. She simply stood there, wings over her beak and wide eyes slowly filling with tears.

A glance, that was all it took. One single glance, and she saw it. All the despair, the hurt, the pain, all piled into one look from the other side of the room. Everything she had felt two nights ago, she saw it all in his face.

"Damnit," she muttered, burying her face in her wings, tears of frustration and regret spilling over as she felt two sets of wings embrace her from both sides, "I am such a hypocrite! I'm an Idiot!"

"It's okay," Tia murmured, "it's okay."

Ali pulled away, spinning around to see if she could see him, but he had gone, the only thing remaining was Pedro and Tony staring in shock after his retreating form.

"No," she whispered, "no it's not."

She realised now. She loved him, there was nothing else to it. She loved him and simply could not live without him.

But whether he would feel the same after tonight was something that was yet to be seen. And incredibly unlikely.

"I..." she stopped, breath catching in her throat, expression panic-stricken and distraught, "I gotta go," she finished, pulling out of Tia and Miyoko's hold, ignoring their pleas and taking off into the air, heading straight for the exit, where she knew Nico would have gone.

She landed once she was out in the open, looking around the dark area for any sign of him, praying she would catch him before he vanished. She had to apologize, to tell him how much she loved him and that she would do anything to just forget this ever happened and go back to the way things used to be.

He was nowhere to be found. The streets were quiet and empty, not a soul about.

There was only one thing left to do.

Find him.

But she never even left the ground, a sharp pain suddenly blossoming in her head as her world suddenly went black.

* * *

"So, China?"

"I don't think that's going to be far enough."

* * *

**A/N: Yeah, confusing. If you didn't think so, then you probably understand my story better than I do and for this I applaud you X) **

**Gah! Drama! I love it, but damn is it a pain to write when it involves a lot of characters. Sorry about the choppiness of this, it was the best way of getting across the events from both points of view at the same time. All will be explained in the next chapter, and hopefully any questions about the events of this chapter will be answered there. **

**I hope you all enjoyed, and please do review with any opinions, long or short :) I'm always happy to see them and I do try to reply to each one if they're signed. Thank you all for reading and hope to see you again in the next chapter :) Have a lovely week :D**


	7. The Only Way Is Up

**The Secret of Chaos**

* * *

Darkness.

A sharp pain was pounding through her head and she began to wake up. Confusion flooded her mind as she opened her eyes, blearily looking around her, seeing only blurred dark shapes.

She tried to groan, to open her beak, but found she couldn't. She physically could not open her beak. Something was tied around it, or stuck around it. Was that duct tape?

As if this wasn't enough to make her panic, her mind began to register the uncomfortable position she was sat in, leant against a solid wood wall with both her wings tied tight behind her back, and her feet tied together. She tried to pull them apart, tried to pull them out of the rope, but whoever had tied these knots must have been in the Navy at some point, because there was no way she was getting those undone on her own.

The dark room slowly began to show up more as her eyes adjusted to the light, or lack thereof.

It was quite a large space, probably about double the size of her hollow, but with not that much in it, just a few small boxes littering the edges. In other words, boring.

Just great, she had actually been kidnapped.

But why? And when for that matter? What had she been doing before she had been knocked out?

It hit her like a freight train, almost knocking the breath right out of her.

Nico!

She was going to find him, to talk to him, to apologize for being a complete idiot last night, and to hopefully make things right once more between them. That was all she wanted to do, to find him and tell him she was sorry and that she loved him.

She could vaguely hear voices, one that was very familiar and not at all pleasant, and the other only a little recognisable, a voice she knew she had heard recently, but not actually speaking.

They were coming this direction.

The door to the room opened and Ali slumped, closing her eyes and making it look like she had never woken at all, listening in to the conversation drifting over from the open door.

"Look, I don't care!" the female voice was saying, her voice snappy and annoyed, "I want double pay for the other night! I did what you told me to do."

Ali resisted the urge to frown, wondering what she was talking about.

"And you did well my Angel," the other voice said, his voice dripping with adoration and pure worship. Was that seriously Franco?

"Yeah, and it would have been fine, I flirted, I did all I could, I even went the extra mile and bloody kissed him! Yes it broke them up, but you obviously didn't factor in those stupid friends of theirs! I mean, look at me, that girl can fight."

It was a set up.

This entire thing was a set up. Franco had actually hired that girl to flirt with Nico somewhere she would see so they would argue and break up. But why? The only reason she could possibly think of off the top of her head had something to do with that silly little crush she knew Franco had on her. But it had to be more than that, no one would go this far to break the just to break them up.

"That's not my problem," Franco said, and Ali could hear the annoyance laced in his voice.

"You want me to make it your problem?" If she hadn't kissed her boyfriend and tried to break them up, Ali was starting to think this was a girl she could get along with.

"I'd like to see you try," Franco's sickly sweet voice had dropped completely by this point, and Ali actually had to repress a shiver at the sound. He sounded darker, more powerful, someone you really didn't want to mess with. It was no longer timid, awkward, or stuttering, but clear, strong and authoritative.

"You know, if it wasn't for that blasted eagle, I would punch you right now," she said, her voice low and dangerous, "then just leave you moaning on the floor."

Eagle?

It couldn't be...No. They couldn't be talking about Vincent.

Could they?

"I gave you that opening slot," Franco growled, "you want me to take it away from you?"

The girl, Ali simply could not recall her name, laughed, short, sharp and mocking, "please, like you would do that this close to the competition, you wouldn't risk anything like that."

"I'm sure I could find someone," Franco replied, the smirk clear in his voice.

"What have you got against this kid anyway?" she asked, "he seemed like a pretty decent guy when I spoke to him, the kind of guy who couldn't hurt a fly."

That was Nico alright, Ali had to smile a little, picturing his face in her mind. All she wanted to do was to see him now. Even if he couldn't forgive her, just to see him smiling again was good enough for her. That was, if she ever got out of here.

"He's threatening my position," Franco growled low.

She laughed sarcastically, "like anyone could do that with Vincent as your 'friend', and definitely not him. Why the hell would he want your position anyway, the guy's got a perfect life here."

He was using Vincent to keep his position. Ali briefly wondered why. He was high up the company, yes, but not so high he would need a protector. With a guy like Vincent on his side, Franco should be right at the top.

Unless...

"He knows something," Franco growled.

Yeah, Ali tried not to snort, like Vincent was dead per chance?

"Something I cannot have other people know, something he did!" the guy was starting to sound angry at this point, bordering on madness, "I want him to suffer for it. And then, well, then I'm going to kill him."

Ali almost gasped, almost let the pair know she was awake. But she managed to resist moving.

No. No, no, no. This could not be happening. She couldn't let it happen. She would rather die.

Screw it all.

"Well, well, well, it seems our little captive is waking up," the smug voice of Franco sounded, his footsteps getting closer until he was standing right in front of her.

She wanted to yell at him, to shout and swear and let him know just how much she loathed him right now. But the stupid tape around her beak prevented any sound other than an annoyed and frustrated 'hm' come out.

He just smirked down at her as she struggled, only serving to anger her more. She caught a glimpse of the girl still standing on the other side of the room by the open door. She looked conflicted, though between what Ali couldn't tell.

She stopped struggling for a moment, and their eyes connected for a second. Just a brief second, but Ali saw something in her eyes she wasn't expecting.

Regret.

The next thing she knew, the girl was out the door and flying down the hall.

For some reason, Ali felt a pang of disappointment, like she actually thought she could help her.

Franco spun around, furious, growling low. But then he stopped, posture relaxing as he took a deep, calming breath and slowly turned back to Ali, who shrank back, suddenly terrified. This guy may not have Vincent any more, but he still looked like someone who wasn't against hurting a defenceless girl.

Oh, how she hoped someone would come for her soon.

* * *

It was the day before the competition.

Things were really beginning to get crazy by this point. Birds were flying about in a panicked frenzy, fixing any last minute details and testing all the equipment to make sure absolutely nothing went wrong on the day. Even those performing were chipping in one way or another. Whether it was by testing the mikes or talking with the backstage hands about lighting or props for their performances.

However for some the day was slightly more panicked than others.

"No!"

The sparrow jumped away with a terrified expression, actually tripping over his own feet and landing with a solid 'thump' on the floor, staring at the rather flustered cardinal with wide eyes.

"Unless you want your head bitten off, I suggest you do not wake him up," Pedro told the bird slowly, as if he was talking to a child, "please."

"B-but, we need you b-both for a run th-through," the startled bird stuttered, backing away slowly.

"Give me ten minutes okay?" Pedro sighed, "We'll be there."

The sparrow nodded, quickly pushing himself off and flying away as quickly as he could. Pedro rolled his eyes, turning back to the napping canary.

He didn't really have the heart to wake him, the poor bird had been through enough in the past week, what with his parents turning up, the incident with that singer, breaking up with Ali, and then last night, he really shouldn't have to worry about performing in front of thousands of birds on top of that. He knew he didn't sleep last night, Rafael had told him that much, and he hadn't been sleeping properly over the past few days, and then they had to spend all day helping set things up. It wasn't all that surprising that by late afternoon he had just conked out in the corner.

He would have to wake him up eventually though, might as well get this run through over with so he could take him home and let the bird get some sleep.

"Nico?" He approached the napping bird cautiously, gently putting a wing on his shoulder and shaking him, "come on man, we need to run through our act, then you can sleep."

The smaller cracked open his eyes, looking groggily around the room, a confused expression on his face.

"Do we have to?" he mumbled, rubbing his eyes and yawning.

"Yeah, sorry buddy," Pedro said, pulling him up into a standing position, allowing the small bird to lean sleepily against him, "I know you're going through a hard time right now, and it really couldn't have happened at a worse time, but we can win this if we try."

"I know, I know, I just..." he trailed off, blinking hard to get the sleep out of his eyes, "alright," he said, taking a deep breath and standing up straight, "alright, I can do this, just one run through, and by tomorrow evening it'll be over right?"

"Right," Pedro said, giving a half-smile, putting his wing on Nico's shoulder, "come on, it's not all bad, we're about to perform in one of the biggest competitions in the world, it's exciting right?"

"Yeah, yeah exciting," Nico repeated, sounding the complete opposite of excited. Pedro had to hold in a groan. This was something they had spent most of their lives working towards. And now everything was more messed up than anyone could have possibly predicted.

Needless to say, the run through didn't go as bad as he had previously thought it might do with Nico in such a state. The depressed canary put on a smile, put on an attitude and sang his heart out. If anyone thought his grin looked a little too forced, no one mentioned it.

But the moment they were backstage, the smile fell off and he leant against the wall, taking deep breaths to stay calm, just watching the chaos that surrounded him.

"I think you need to have a talk with Ali," Pedro said, leaning next to him, "sorry to be blunt, but you really do, this is getting ridiculous. Tomorrow was meant to be one of the best days of our lives so far, and I feel for you bro, I really do, but you need to get this sorted before tomorrow or we are going to lose spectacularly."

Nico nodded, and opened his beak to reply, but another voice cut in before he could let any sound out.

"Nico! Pedro!"

Both boys spun around as Tia flew towards them, slightly misjudging the distance and careering straight into Pedro, knocking him clear over. She babbled an apology, climbing off him and darting to Nico, grabbing his shoulders and staring him straight in the eyes.

"Nico, please, tell me Ali found you and you talked last night and she's here with you now," she said, her voice laced with anxiety and worry, her green eyes desperately searching his for any sign of hope.

Nico shook his head slowly, a frown appearing on his face, "no, I haven't seen her since..." he trailed off, voice catching in his throat.

Tia groaned, closing her eyes tightly and dropping her head, "shit," she murmured, stepping back, "I can't find her anywhere, and I have looked absolutely everywhere!" she sighed, nervously tapping her foot and wringing her wings together, "she went to find you last night," she explained, "she was literally seconds behind you, how did she not get to you? Are you sure?"

"Wait a minute, slow down," Nico said, holding up a wing and looking incredibly confused, "are you saying she's missing?"

"Pretty much," Tia replied, "I got everyone looking, but it's like she just vanished off the face of the planet. You were kinda my last resort, maybe you had made up and she came with you today. I don't know."

Pedro stepped forward, wrapping his wings around her gently, and she turned into him, burying her face in his shoulder. Nico just stood shock still, staring into space, but not really seeing.

Missing? How could she be missing?

"Alright," he said after a few moments, "have you spoken to Ralfy? If you can get my family into the search, you'll probably find her, there's certainly enough of them. Pedro, go with her, I'm going to look around here, just in case she came looking for me today."

Tia nodded, swallowing thickly and taking Pedro's wing, the larger bird leading her away with a worried glance back at the canary left standing by the wall, looking thoughtful.

He stood there, thinking hard until the couple had long vanished into the crowd. He tried to put himself in her mindset, where would she go?

"Nico?"

He almost jumped right out of his feathers at the timid voice close to his ear and he spun around, holding in a scream. However, standing behind him, looking rather out of breath, was the last bird he had expected to see. And yet, at the same time, he suppose she had just as much of a reason to be here as him.

After all, she was the opening act.

"Angelique," he greeted, nodding curtly, trying to be polite but finding he just wasn't in the mood, "what do you want?" He snapped, glaring disdainfully at her. She looked away, her expression full of regret and shame that, surprisingly, looked completely genuine.

"I know where she is," the dark bird said, her voice barely above a whisper, "please, I know where your girlfriend is."

He didn't want to trust her, she was the one who had ruined their lives, driven a wedge of distrust between him and Ali. Why would she want to help him find her?

"Why should I believe you?"

Angelique grimaced, looking at him apologetically, "I know you don't have any reason to trust me, I've never given you any reason to, but you have to believe me. The Director has her, he's trying to get back at you for something, he's using her as a tool to make you suffer for something, I don't know what, he won't say anything."

"What?" Nico was torn between confusion and worry.

"Please, this guy is not above hurting her to get at you," Angelique told him, her voice desperate. Could anyone really be this good an actor? Nico looked into her eyes, searching for any sign of a lie, but saw nothing but truth. And after what she had just told him, he didn't really want to risk anything, especially if she was telling the truth.

Yes, he was still angry at Ali for what she did, but he didn't want her hurt. Never.

"Alright," he said eventually, nodding, "alright, I'll believe you, but if you are lying, I will not hold back Tia or Miyoko."

Angelique swallowed, nodding quickly, "I promise I'm telling the truth, now come on!" She grabbed his wing, dragging him towards the back exit, quickly letting go once she was sure he was following.

Nico followed her out the exit and along the back of the stage, where it was completely deserted, barely a soul around. She led him to a small door close to the edge, where she stopped, turning to him with a serious expression.

"Okay, look, I don't know what he's up to," she said in a low whisper, "but all the birds working for him, they're working in fear of Vincent, he protects him, scares the workers, makes sure they don't step out of line. I'm going to get a few of them down here, if he talks, they'll hear. It's time they threw him off the top."

Nico held up a wing, stopping her in her tracks, "wait a minute, Vincent's dead," he told her, frowning in confusion.

Angelique stared at him, open-beaked and shocked, "what?" she bit out, her expression morphing into one of anger and contempt.

"Yeah, he came after me a few months ago," Nico explained, wondering how she didn't already know this, "he got caught in the explosion after a fire hit something explosive. It nearly killed me and Tony too, but we got out. He didn't."

"That dirty little liar," she growled, standing to her full height, "alright, I'm going to get everyone, we're starting an uprising. You just get the girl out."

Nico nodded, watching as she flew off and out of sight, before taking a deep breath and turning to the closed door behind him, listening to see if anyone was talking, any clue as to whether she was telling the truth and she was in there. Usually, she would be screaming the place down by this point, and the sound of silence meant something was very wrong.

He crept forward, gently pressing a wing against the wood of the door, pushing it open, wincing as he heard it squeak a little as it swung open. And there, bound and gagged and staring at him with just as much shock as he was feeling, was Ali.

Everything he had felt over the past few days, all the pain, hopelessness, misery and anger, just disappeared, washed away as she stared at him with pure terror in her eyes. He quickly found his voice and the feeling in his limbs and he darted forward, quickly going to work on untying the tight knots on her legs with shaky wings.

"Oh god Ali," he muttered, pulling the now loose ropes off and moving up to remove the tape from her beak, "this is all my fault, I'm sorry."

She shook her head, staring into his dark brown eyes as he placed a gentle wing on her cheek. Her eyes said infinitely more than her voice ever could. She didn't blame him for anything, and if anyone should be sorry it was her.

He immediately began work on taking the tape off her beak, not an easy task with only feathers. He looked around the dark room for something sharp he could use to cut through it, seeing nothing but boxes. He looked back at her, noticing straight away that she was looking and nodding at something directly above him. He glanced up, suddenly understanding what she was getting at.

He whipped his hat off, using the sharp edge to carefully saw through the tape, peeling it off once he had cut all the way through. She stayed surprisingly quiet as he turned her around to work on the rope binding her wings together.

However, the moment her wings were free she spun around, throwing them around him tightly and pulling him close.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, sounding like she was on the edge of tears, "I'm so, so sorry," she sniffed, burying her face into her neck, "I was just angry at you, and...and, then I saw you and I couldn't, I didn't want to see you hurt, but it was too late and I felt like such a hypocrite and all I wanted to do was find you and tell you I'm sorry," she hiccupped.

Nico gently wrapped his wings around her, resting his chin on top of her head and softly stroking the feathers down her back.

"I'm sorry, and I love you so, so much and I never want to let you go again."

Nico stayed silent throughout her emotional spiel, just listening and allowing her to just let it all out.

She pulled back a little, both wings on either side of her face, looking into his brown eyes, her own blue ones scared and pleading, "they played us both, they wanted us to break up, something about Vincent, I don't know."

"He doesn't want anyone to know Vincent's dead," Nico explained for her, "it's the only way for him to stay on top of the company."

Ali nodded slowly, not taking her eyes off his, "it's Franco," she told him, watching as his eyes widened.

"What?" he asked, beak dropping open, "Franco? As in the one who keeps cowering away every time you come near him Franco?"

"Apparently he's a good actor," Ali shrugged, moving back in and hugging him tightly once more.

"No kidding," Nico mumbled, pulling her away from him, "come on, we need to get out of here." He pulled her up, keeping a hold of her wing and leading her towards the door.

But just as they were a mere foot away, it slammed shut in their faces, blocking their exit. Nico felt Ali's grip in his tighten for a moment, then disappear altogether.

"H-hey!"

Nico spun around, his wing suddenly feeling incredibly empty, and there he was. Franco. The bird who had tricked them all into thinking he was a simple minded, socially awkward Personnel Manager. And yet here he was, standing tall and powerful, one wing around Ali's body, keeping her from moving, the other holding a knife to her throat.

"Let her go," Nico growled, wishing he could glare a hole through Franco's head, "it's me you want, this has nothing to do with her."

Franco just smirked, tightening his grip and angling the knife ever so slightly, making the canary in his grip whimper a little.

"You're right," he said, his smirk growing, "it is you I want, you killed Vincent and threatened my position. But if there's one thing I've learnt as the director of this company and having Vincent as a dear friend, it's that if you want revenge on someone, get the one they love, make them suffer, then kill them."

"Let. Her. Go," Nico bit out, his voice full of anger and sourness. He wasn't going to let this happen, he couldn't let this happen.

"However in this case, I think I'm going to offer you a choice," Franco said, looking thoughtfully down at Ali, who was glaring up at him with utter loathing, "I can let him live," he told her, "if you stay with me."

"What?" both canaries exclaimed, neither expecting anything like that to come out of his beak.

"You heard me," Franco spat, "you stay with me," he growled down at Ali, "can't you see it? We're perfect for each other."

"Yeah, I'm really not seeing that," Ali replied, looking rather disgusted, "no way in hell."

Franco looked thoughtful for a moment, then grinned, "that's fine, I'll just kill him then."

"No!" Ali cried, stopping him from letting her go and moving forward, "I'll do it, just...just don't hurt him okay?"

"Ali," Nico started, "don't listen, he's just going to kill me anyway."

"Actually I wouldn't," Franco said, "I'm not a bird who would go back on his word."

"Kill me then," Nico told him bluntly, trying as hard as he could not to look at Ali's expression, "I would rather die than let her have anything to do with you."

"NO!" Ali exclaimed, starting to struggle. Both guys just ignored her, trying to glare each other down.

"Just, let her go," Nico said eventually, dropping his gaze.

There was a moment of quiet, the only sound was Ali's struggles to get free, then Franco grinned, removing the knife from her neck and practically throwing her to the ground next to Nico, who dropped down by her side, one wing round her shoulders.

"Fine by me," the dark bird smirked, "I'll give you thirty seconds to say goodbye."

"Don't worry," Nico whispered in her ear, and she froze, looking at him with wide, frightened eyes. Then, without warning, she leant up and kissed him hard on the beak, full of desperation and love. She pulled away before hugging him tightly, choking back a sob.

"You can't," she murmured, holding him so tight he was almost close to suffocating, "you can't, we could take him down, there's only one of him."

"Actually we couldn't," Nico muttered back, "have you seen who's standing in the corner by the door?"

He felt her lean around him and stiffen as she caught a glance of the large bird with sharp talons standing in the corner. "O-kay, then why are you telling me not to worry?" She pulled back, looking deep into his eyes, desperately searching for a glimmer of hope, "the guy I'm in love with is about to die and you're telling me not to worry?"

Nico just smiled, leaning in close to whisper in her ear, "look at the door," be breathed, "help is coming." Ali glanced at the bottom of the door where a small strip of light was showing, but a few shadows indicated that someone was standing outside, listening in.

"Alright, time's up lovebirds," Franco's smug voice broke the couple from their own little world, quickly walking over and dragging Nico away from Ali, wrapping a wing around his neck from behind, pulling him backwards and angling the knife so it was pointed at his stomach.

Whatever it was that Nico had planned, Ali knew they had to hurry, or he was a goner.

"Please," she whispered with a shaky voice, watching with wide, teary eyes as Franco shifted his wings so the knife was pointed towards at his heart, and there it rested, just waiting. Ali felt her heart speed up at the look Nico seemed to be giving her. At first there was hope, but as the seconds ticked by it became more and more panicked, glancing between her and the door.

"I think I might enjoy this one," Franco hissed in his ear, "you killed Vincent, the _only_ thing keeping me at the top, so I'm going to make this nice," he pressed a little harder, causing Nico to wince, "and," the canary's breath caught in his throat as the sharp point of the knife pressed just a little harder against his chest, "slow."

Nico let out a sharp gasp of pain as the knife suddenly moved, instead of plunging into his heart, as he fully expected it to, it cut up and across, leaving a thin and shallow cut from his heart to his shoulder. Nothing life-threatening, but enough to make him double over in pain.

Ali gasped, taking a step forward, but stopping as Nico held up a wing, the other pressed to his chest. He was breathing hard, more from shock than from pain, wondering where the rescue party was and why they were taking so long. He took a quick glance at the door, seeing something that made him smile

"That may not work out for you in the long run," he bit out as Franco pulled him back.

Ali snuck a glance back at the door, where she noticed the amounts of shadows increasing, immediately understanding what he was getting at.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Franco asked, pressing the knife against his throat.

"It means," Ali started, standing up to her full height, and he immediately turned his attention to her, "you've given your 'loyal' workers just enough time and information for this to happen," she grinned as the door swung open and she stepped aside, revealing Angelique. And behind her, not just several, but all of those working for the company, every single one of them glaring at Franco like they wanted to put a hole in his head.

Nico took his chance while Franco was distracted to pull out of his grasp, grabbing the wing holding the knife and twisting it behind his back, forcing him to drop the sharp instrument and cry out in pain. Unable to move properly, Franco could do nothing but watch as Angelique and several of the workers stepped into the room.

"Guess what idiot," she spat, "I just made it your problem," she smirked, indicating to Nico that it was safe to let go. He made sure the knife was kicked far out of reach before doing so, immediately fluttering over to Ali and pulling her out of the way.

"We should go," he muttered as Franco disappeared out of sight, lost in the throng that had crowded into the small room. Not surprisingly, the eagle in the corner still stood there and did nothing. What was rather shocking however, was the small smile on his beak when the pair of canaries glanced up at him as they fought their way out of the room, taking a small window of opportunity and flying through a tiny gap at the top of the doorway.

They practically collapsed on the grass once outside, past the crowds, breathing hard and still a little shaky from adrenaline. They laid head to foot, wings clasped tightly in the middle.

"Well," Nico started, staring up at the wisps of cloud in the evening sky, "that was a fun way to spend the evening."

Ali laughed a little sitting up and looking down at him with a smile, a smile that very quickly morphed into shock and horror.

"Crap! I almost forgot, you're hurt!" she exclaimed, darting forward and examining the cut on his chest with worried eyes, her wing ghosting over it. Nico lifted his head, slowly sitting up so he could take a look.

"Huh, would you look at that," he murmured, gingerly touching it. It was no longer bleeding; in fact, it hadn't really bled much at all, but the way the blood had soaked into his feathers made it look as if it had. "Honestly, it doesn't even hurt anymore."

Ali gave him a dry look, then poked it, causing him to hiss and double over, grabbing her wing and pushing it away.

"Much," he finished, giving her a dark glare. Their eyes connected, and for a moment they could just forget the world, the sounds of cheering and a slight struggle fading into nothing. Nico lifted a wing and gently touched her cheek, staring into her deep blue eyes with a small smile.

Ali was the first to break the connection, dropping her gaze to the ground, guilt and regret clear on her features.

"Listen, what I said back there," she said, her voice unusually quiet, "I meant it," she looked back up into his chocolate brown eyes, trying to work out what they were saying, "last night," she sighed, "last night was a mistake, I was just angry at you, for no reason now I look back on it, and then I saw her and I just wanted to get back at you a little, make you feel how I did. And then I saw you, like, I really, really _saw_ you, and I realised how much I love you, and how I would do just about anything to make it right."

"Question, did you actually kiss him?" Nico asked, still looking at her with an unreadable expression.

"No," she said, smiling at the look of relief on his face, "I tripped him and sent him flying to the floor."

Nico bit back a laugh, but was unable to control the grin on his beak.

"So?" she asked, suddenly nervous. She didn't expect him to forgive her. Heck, she didn't forgive herself.

Nico smiled, warm and gentle, sliding a wing around her waist and pulling her closer towards him, "that's my girl," he murmured softly, grinning briefly before kissing her tenderly, almost laughing as she practically melted into him, slowly wrapping her wings around his neck.

"Well, well, well."

The couple broke apart, looking up at Pedro and Tia smirking down at them, Tia looking like she was torn between tears and laughter. Pedro stood behind her, wings wrapped around her waist and snickering quietly.

Ali groaned, dropping her head onto Nico's uninjured shoulder. "Seriously? I'm really starting to wonder if people just like interrupting us," she muttered bitterly, while Nico just patted her back sympathetically and laughed.

"Took you two long enough," Pedro commented, grinning so wide his face could have split in two, "but seriously, we were coming back to see if you had found Ali and heard a commotion and so we came to find ou- Woah! What the hell happened dude?" he exclaimed, catching a glance of Nico's bloodied chest.

"What? Oh, right," Nico smiled, shaking his head a little as Ali sat back, "don't worry, it looks a lot worse than it actually is."

"Seriously though, what happened?" Tia asked worriedly, breaking free from Pedro and dropping down next to him, examining the cut in the same way her best friend did.

"Well, this is the shortened version, but you know Franco?" Nico started, and the two birds nodded slowly, "well, turns out he's not what he says he is, he's actually director of this whole company, and was using Vincent to keep his position. He hears about what happened a few months ago and sets out for revenge, actually kidnapping Ali and nearly killing me. Thankfully they," he pointed to the crowds leading Franco away in shame, "got there just in time and have now overthrown their tyrant."

"Nice," Pedro nodded, impressed, "so long as you're both okay."

"Yeah," Tia agreed, standing up, "and we want the full version later. This sounds like a long and complicated story, but it sounds exciting, so later. Now however," she grabbed Ali's wing and pulled her into a tight hug, obviously shocking the yellow bird, who initially stiffened, before rolling her eyes and relaxing into the hold, "don't you ever do that to me again you hear?" Tia murmured.

"Got it," Ali laughed, grinning as she pulled away.

"One thing though," Pedro commented thoughtfully, glancing back at the joyful crowd, "if Franco's the director, and he's been overthrown and all that, what's going to happen to the competition?"

* * *

**A/N: So, I was thinking about being mean and actually finishing the entire thing before posting this, which probably would have been a while. Thought I might just leave you hanging on the edge for a while. But then two things occurred to me. One, it's mean, and I'm a nice person (usually) and two, I really need your help for writing the competition. I need songs. Anything that might be suitable. Anything at all, throw them at me. Whole lists if you want to, but I need options and I don't usually listen to the kind of music they would perform. I've had one suggestion so far, but I need a few more D:**

**So anyway :P my holiday starts tomorrow, so while I will still get notifications and will be able to access the internet and reply to reviews and such, I will not be able to write, so I figured I would get this out before I disappear for two weeks :)**

**I hope you all enjoyed, please do drop a review, and I'll see you all in a few weeks time :) **


	8. Panic?

**The Secret of Chaos**

* * *

Panic seemed to be the first reaction.

With no one left to lead them, no one to organise the company, the workers of Prism were at a loss about what to do with the competition so quickly approaching. Could they really put everything together so quickly without anyone to manage and coordinate them. As it turned out, Franco was so paranoid about an overthrow attempt that he'd made sure not a single bird he had hired had the skill, confidence or knowledge to take over should anything happen to him.

Nothing was left to chance.

"So basically, if no one takes over, and takes over soon, we are well and truly screwed?" Nico confirmed with Shanti, a small Leiothrix bird from India. She was a tiny green bird, with bright yellow and black tips on her wings and a yellow chest. Soft spoken and shy, she wasn't exactly ideal to lead a company as vast as this and organise the hundreds of workers and performers, but she was the only one with enough organisational skill and knowledge of the business.

One thing she did lack however, was confidence and voice.

And so, in amongst all the uneasiness, she had quickly hunted down Nico and Pedro to see if they knew anyone in the vast city who could help them, who had in turn gathered together Ali, Tia, Tony, Miyoko, the twins, Adriana, Rafael, Blu and Jewel to see if any of them could help.

"Yeah, I would do it if I could, but I'm not exactly loud enough for anyone to listen to me," the green bird nodded, fiddling with a small length of dark purple ribbon nervously.

"We just need someone with enough skills and a loud voice then," Rafael pointed out sensibly, "they can then work with you at finishing the competition."

"But who?"

Silence fell over the small group as they looked at each other, the only sounds were the faint anxious conversations from outside.

"I hate to say this, but count us out," Pedro said with a reluctant shrug, Nico nodding in agreement, "I think we've got enough to worry about."

Nico shrugged, yawning loudly, "We need a few emergency rehearsals too, and some sleep. Anyone else?"

"What about Miguel?" Blu suggested, "he runs the Alley well enough."

"He's never done anything on this sort of scale," Rafael said, "besides, he's a little too passive for something like this, you need to be...brutal shall we say?" he looked to Shanti, who nodded in confirmation.

"If that's the case I would suggest Ali," Tia snickered, an expression that was quickly cut short and replaced with a chilling fear when she caught a glimpse of the smirk and raised eyebrow her best friend was giving her and she couldn't help but wonder how Nico was still alive considering he had to live with the girl.

Nico barely heard anything that was being said at this point, his attention diverted by the sight of Tony and Miyoko hurriedly whispering to each other. Tony looked hopeful and pleading, while Miyoko had an air of defiance about her.

"Miyoko could do it," Tony suddenly said, cutting Jewel off mid-sentence and ignoring his girlfriends tugs on his wing and pleas against the idea. There was silence for a moment as the group mulled the idea over.

"Actually," Nico said, a thoughtful expression passing over his face, "that's not a half bad idea."

"See," Tony grinned at her, "you'll be perfect, you can certainly get anyone's attention. You've got experience with Rumours, and you're definitely loud enough."

"And didn't you mention something about that competition back in Tokyo?" Tia pointed out, smirking a little at the betrayed glare Miyoko shot her.

"I can't," she whined, "Yeah, I've done a few things like this, but nothing on this scale. I do this on my own."

"You won't be on your own," Tony said softly, smiling and wrapping his wing around her and pulling her close, "anything you need, anything at all, just ask and we'll help you out."

The look that appeared on Miyoko's face was one rarely seen on the feisty and flirty bird. It was one of pure love and happiness that she had found a guy who believed in her that much and was willing to go to any lengths to help her when she needed it.

Needless to say it was a look that almost made half the group want to throw up.

"Okay," Ali said quickly, "now that's sorted, I think I need to take this one home," she gestured to Nico, who looked at her in confusion, "I think he's about to fall asleep on his feet."

This was true, he had spent the past half an hour; once the adrenaline had worn off, yawning and rubbing at his eyes, trying to keep himself awake. And Ali was fairly sure his wing around her shoulders was the only thing currently keeping him upright.

"Alright, bright and early tomorrow morning then," Tia sing-songed, and smug grin on her face as Nico grumbled something unintelligible, but sounded a lot like he was swearing explicitly in French.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure he's up," Ali laughed, leading him away as Miyoko got over her momentary stage fright and grabbed Shanti, marching into the main room backstage and barking out orders like she had been doing it her entire life.

"You sure you don't want to go to the sanctuary?" she asked once they were out of earshot.

"Seriously, I'm fine," Nico laughed, unconsciously touching the bandage wrapped tightly around his chest. Despite the fact that the bleeding had stopped and that everything was all right, the group had insisted on him going to see the first aider on site to get it cleaned up and bandaged up just in case, "honestly I just want to curl up with you and go to sleep."

Ali couldn't help the soppy smile appearing on her beak.

"I've missed you," she murmured, pressing a little closer and nuzzling her beak in the crook of his neck, just breathing in his scent as they slowly walked across the empty field towards the trees, neither wanting to let go and take off just yet.

"So much," Nico finished, stopping so he could turn to face her, "listen, I want to tell you something," he said seriously, "I-" he faltered a little when she looked up and their eyes linked, his heart speeding up while she looked at him expectantly, "I just want you to know, if we ever, god forbid, fight like that again, I still love you. Whatever happens, I will still love you, forever."

Ali did nothing for a moment, simply staring into his eyes with the widest grin on her beak. Then she threw her wings around his neck, holding him tight as she buried her face into his neck, loving the sound of his tinkering laugh in her ears.

"I love you," she muttered, "let's not ever do something that stupid again."

Nico had to laugh as he pulled back, looking into her dark blue eyes, the distant light of the stage reflected in them, "agreed," he murmured, leaning in and pressing his beak gently against hers.

* * *

To say that Nico was feeling a little grumpy would be a gross understatement. Despite being a completely sensible couple and going straight to sleep the night before, Nico had only been able to sleep for a few hours before waking up, plagued by doubts about their upcoming performance.

Were the songs they had picked good enough? Had they practiced enough? Choreography? Back-up?

His mind simply wouldn't shut up, and by the time he had calmed down enough to go back to sleep it was only for half an hour before Ali dragged him up and down to the stage, where Pedro was already there and looking far too perky for Nico to be happy about.

But before he got a chance to make any sort of complaint, he felt a timid tap on his shoulder. Behind him stood a familiar red and black bird staring guiltily at her feet.

"Angelique, right?" he asked, a small smile on his beak. She had saved his life after all.

"Um, yeah, look, I just want to tell you how sorry I am. Honestly I didn't want to hurt you, but he paid me and I needed what he had to offer. I'm sorry," she looked up, shameful blue eyes connecting with his forgiving brown ones.

"I think you more than made up for that," Nico grinned, "I mean, I'd probably be dead by this point if you hadn't come along,"

Angelique gave a small smile, "even so," she said softly, "I'm dropping out, I'm going home," she laughed a little, short and bitter, "where I can't cause any more damage."

"What was he paying you with anyway?" Nico had to ask. What could she be so desperate for that she was willing to do so much just to get a hold of it?

"Medicine," the dark bird said simply with a small shrug, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, "it's a rare plant, and at the moment, the only hope for saving my son."

This silenced his voice before it even reached his beak.

That was...unexpected.

"Oh," he was speechless, suddenly feeling rather awkward, "oh, well, I'm sorry, hope he gets better soon," he eventually said, giving her a small, sympathetic smile.

"Eh, he'll be fine I'm sure," Angelique shrugged it off, flashing a hopeful smile, noticing someone over Nico's shoulder and giving them a curt nod. "Well, that's my ride, I'll be off then," she smiled, "good luck in the competition, I'm sure you'll be absolutely fabulous. Oh, and again, I'm sorry."

And with one final wave, she was gone, taking off in a flurry of dark feathers and round the corner before Nico could even blink.

Which was, of course, when the implications of her leaving hit. A second too late.

* * *

"Miyoko, we have a problem."

"Yes what is it Nico?" the red and blue bird snapped, spinning around with a dark glare and a sneer. Upon seeing the taken aback and rather scared canary she took a deep, calming breath, closing her eyes and pausing for a moment, trying to block out the noises of construction and mixed singing from around her. After a few seconds she opened her eyes, smiling serenely and giving Nico a questioning look. "Sorry," she said, "this is more stressful than I thought it would be, what's wrong?"

"You're probably not going to like this then."

* * *

"Alright Birds! Gather!" Miyoko barked, putting on her best glare as she flew onto the stage where many of the birds had already congregated. Several hundred pairs of eyes looked up at her as she landed on a platform, causing her to fight down the sudden wave of stage-fright and steady her voice.

"We need a opening act, our last one dropped out and we need something. Anything!" she said, looking down at the sea of blank faces, some birds leaning over and whispering to each other. But no one spoke up, no one stepped forward. "Any volunteers?"

Again, no one spoke.

Then, from right at the back, one bird put their wing up, and Miyoko almost sighed in relief when she saw Tia nodding and grinning at her. Well, she would be perfect for it, Miyoko knew and trusted her, and she at least had a few songs already memorised, so her actually volunteering was a absolute god-send.

Especially as not a single bird looked like they were even thinking of stepping forward.

"I'll do it," Tia grinned as she landed next to her friend, "but I have one condition."

"What?"

"You're singing with me," the colourful bird had to stifle a laugh at Miyoko's look of horror, "relax, it's not like we actually need to practice, no time for that, but I can't think of one song that just has to be done."

Miyoko's stressed expression slowly morphed into a smug smirk as Tia leaned over and whispered in her ear.

"Perfect."

* * *

"No. No, no, no, no, no. Not now, not today."

Nico barely gave his panicked best friend a glance as he paced up and down the room, wings folded and body tensed up.

"I'm sorry, but I'm starting to doubt everything now. Is what we picked really good enough?"

"Absolutely!" Pedro said firmly, nodding, "Nico man, you gotta to stop this, just for today. We are perfect, understand?" he fluttered over to his friend, landing right in front of him and stopping him in his tracks, putting his wings on the smaller birds shoulders, "we're going to be amazing out there, today is not the day to scrap it all and take risks."

The canary was silent for a moment, examining his friend's defiant expression.

"Today is the perfect day to take a risk," he said quietly, watching with slight amusement as Pedro's jaw dropped, a million emotions showing in his eyes, the main one being absolute frustration, though if Nico looked close enough he could see the tiny pinpricks of doubt begin to take hold.

"Look, I don't care if whatever song you've conducted in that head of yours is pure gold, why today of all days?" he dropped his head into one wing, sighing deeply, "we've only got hours to practice, and after the past few days, well, we're not in the best shape. Let's just perfect what we've already got."

"Actually," another voice came from the doorway of the dressing room, both heads snapping in the direction of the door, beaks dropping open, "I'm inclined to agree with Nico."

Nico stared at the figure, completely frozen with shock, though a wide grin was quickly growing on his beak.

"Cosette!" he laughed, darting into her open wings the second she offered the invitation, wrapping his wings around the older bird tightly.

"Bonjour mon chéri," Cosette chuckled as the smaller buried his face into her feathers, "C'est bon de vous voir aussi."

"Que faites-vous ici?"

"Quoi? Avez-vous vraiment que je rater cela?"

"Je vous ai manqué," Nico mumbled.

"Cela ne fait que quelques mois," Cosette said, pulling back and looking down at Nico's smiling face as he shrugged, "Mais tu me manquais trop." She looked up at Pedro, whose expression was a mixture of a smile and confusion. "And Pedro, sweetie, 'ow are you doing?"

Pedro looked a little taken aback for a second, not really expecting her to say hello, and certainly not expecting her to call him 'sweetie'. What was it with girls and pet names?

"Ah, hi, not bad thanks, just a little stressed," he said, shooting a dark glare at Nico, who just poked his tongue out in return.

"Oh yes, now," Cosette started, shooing Nico further back into the room and moving herself to sit on a large cushion nearby, "Sorry, I couldn't 'elp but overhear, and I can assure you in no way am I biased 'ere, but I would 'ave to agree with Nico."

Pedro just stared at her with a dumbstruck expression as Nico grinned smugly at him.

"Of course, we would have to see if what he's got is any good, but if there's ever a perfect time to throw caution to the wind and take a risk, it's right now," she explained, laughing a little at the smirk on Nico's beak.

Pedro was silent, and Nico could see how he was thinking it over. The canary had been friends with the cardinal for years now, he knew exactly how the older bird's mind worked. First he would deny the concept of the idea being a good one, despite the nagging doubts in the back of his mind, which get more and more prominent with every passing second. Eventually it gets too much and he starts to believe them, eventually giving into the idea, and on occasion, accepting that maybe he was wrong. The brilliant part was all the facial expressions he went through as he thought.

"At least let me show you what I've got."

* * *

"One hour 'til curtain call!"

Stress levels were beginning to rise. Backstage started getting more and more crowded as performers and helpers alike rushed to finish their jobs, finish warming up, practicing. Whatever it was they were doing, the nervous atmosphere was causing even the most experienced performers to feel a little anxious, especially as the crowd outside began to quickly form, birds from all over the world flocking in to see the show.

In amongst it all however, laying in the corner against a pile of cushions, examining her feathers with a placid expression, was Ali, waiting for Nico to finish with Pedro so she could see him before everything kicked off.

What she wasn't expecting, though on hindsight she really should have seen it coming, was Tia practically dropping from the sky directly above, landing heavily beside her with a wide grin. It took a few minutes for the canary to catch her breath, having been scared witless by the unexpected drop-in.

"What's up bird?" Tia asked, rolling onto her front and leaning her chin on her interlocked wings and grinning up at her. Ali simply raised her eyebrows and went back to preening her feathers, still trying to calm her wildly beating heart.

"Just waiting."

"Oh, hang on, I know that face," Tia said, her tone suspicious as she sat up and leaned in closer, smirking as Ali leaned away with a frown.

"What face?" Ali asked, slightly confused.

Tia sighed, shaking her head slowly, "you're still feeling guilty."

"What?" Ali squeaked, completely bewildered, "I'm no-" she stopped, releasing the rest of the breath in a deep sigh, "alright, fine, yes, I'm still feeling guilty about what I did."

"You know he's completely forgiven you right? I mean no one can fake that look of absolute love and devotion he does every single time he looks at you," Tia told her, "it's almost sickening," she laughed, not completely serious.

"I know, I know, it's just," she sighed again, sinking further into the plush pillow, "he saved me, without even knowing that it was a set up, before he forgave me. And what did I do? Nothing," she looked out to the busy area, wishing she could be that occupied, just to take her mind off things, "I just wish there was a way to make it up to him. But I can't think of anything that actually could, at least not for me."

Tia was silent for a moment, mulling the thought over, and trying to think of an idea that Ali might just deem sufficient.

"I think you have to do something he wouldn't expect. Something you've never really done before. Maybe even something you don't feel all that comfortable doing," there was another moment of silence as the pair thought it over, "oh, how about this?" Tia suddenly exclaimed, before leaning over and whispering in her best friend's ear.

"Tia!" Ali cried after a few seconds, reaching up to slap the giggling bird around the back of the head, the canary blushing madly under her feathers, "seriously?" She rubbed her eyes with one wing, "sometimes I wonder what is going through that head of yours."

"I'll take that as a no?"

"Yes that's a no!" Ali near yelled, causing a few birds to glance in their direction.

"Alright, how about this?"

Ali looked a little sceptical, but allowed Tia to once again lean over and whisper in her ear.

She was silent as Tia sat back studying her expression with a grin.

"Actually, that's not a half bad idea."

"Hey guys!" Miyoko's excited voice ended their conversation before Tia could reply, and the next thing they knew she was sprawled out over Tia's legs, laughing up at the pair of bewildered faces staring down at her.

"Don't mind her," Tony's slightly calmer voice appeared as he landed gently behind them, "she's just happy her work is now over, Shanti's taken over completely now."

It wasn't long before Adriana joined them, then the twins practically crashed into their little group, giggling like children and looking very suspicious. A look that was very quickly explained when they dived for a hiding spot as a dripping wet parrot stalked angrily past.

"You know something?"

Ali's head snapped up at the sound of Nico's voice. An action she just knew Tia was smirking at. Standing in front of the crowed cushion, wings crossed and a laughing grin on his beak was Nico, Pedro and Cosette standing either side, both smirking.

"This group is one tent away from being a full blown circus, I swear."

"I have to agree," Ali said, pulling him up to join them, resting her head on his shoulder as he wrapped a wing around her, "I don't think a single one of us is in any way completely sane."

Nico laughed along with the rest of them, pressing a kiss to her cheek.

"I don't think I would have it any other way."

* * *

**A/N: *Dies***

**Okay, I actually have a half decent excuse for this taking nearly a month. I was away for two weeks, with no where to type. And when I got home, well, very little inspiration came :/ Between that and the constant distractions that are Tumblr, Sherlock and my sudden social life, I found very little time to write. And When I did, I was able to write around two sentences before giving up. But it's here, I haven't died, and we're getting close to the end now. **

**It's a little shorter than usual, but I will make up for that with a super long chapter next time :) Finally time for the competition :D**

**I hope you all enjoyed :) Thank you all for the the reviews, please do keep them coming :D  
**

**Until next time folks :P**


	9. Showdown

"Alright girls, ready?"

Nervous tittering mixed with overwhelming excitement met the question and Tia had to hold back a chuckle at the gaggle of girls standing in front of her and Miyoko. Somehow, she had just managed to catch Angelique before she disappeared back to France, and was able to convince her to let the two performers borrow her backup dancers from the week before. Needless to say, the four sisters were more than eager to help them out, having been originally dropped from the show at Angelique's abrupt departure.

"Ready as we'll ever be captain," Miyoko grinned, giving a mock salute.

"Curtain up!" came the call from both sides of the stage, and the group quickly separated, each flying up to their starting point, the fours dancers on the higher platforms, and Tia and Miyoko at the front on either side of the stage.

The two friends shot an excited glance at the other as the curtain began to raise, grinning in anticipation before they both took a deep breath and turned to the wildly cheering audience catching a brief glimpse before closing their eyes, a steady beat on the drums starting up as the curtain reached the top.

_"You know the bed feels warmer," _Miyoko started, thankful for the microphones that had been set up earlier that day, singing above this crowd without them would be simply impossible,_ "Sleeping here alone, You know I dream in colour, And do the things I want."_

_"You think you got the best of me,"_ Tia nearly laughed as the stage light shone down on her, adrenaline and the thrill of singing for this many birds overwhelming her and pushing down any nervousness and stage fright she might have felt earlier. "_Think you've had the last laugh, Bet you think that everything good is gone._"

_"Think you left me broken down, Think that I'd come running back,"_ two voices blended into one as they strutted towards each other, eyes locking as they met in the middle, stepping around the other and walking slowly backwards to opposite sides of the stage, "_Baby you don't know me, cause you're dead wrong."_

_"What doesn't kill you makes you stronger,"_ as they hit the chorus their backup joined in, all six birds singing as loud as they could, the only way to be heard, even with the microphones, "_Stand a little taller, Doesn't mean I'm lonely when I'm alone, What doesn't kill you makes a fighter, Footsteps even lighter, Doesn't mean I'm over cause you're gone."  
_  
_"What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, stronger,"_ The backup singers sang a little quieter, allowing Tia and Miyoko to really let their voices be heard, "_Just me, myself and I. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, Stand a little taller, Doesn't mean I'm lonely when I'm alone."  
_  
_'You heard that I was starting over with someone new  
They told you I was moving on, over you.'_

"You alright sweet?"

Ali almost jumped out of her feathers at the soft voice in her ear, and she spun around ready to defend herself, before the words really sunk in and her gaze came to rest on a rather bemused looking Nico. She let out the breath she didn't know she had been holding, smacking him lightly on the shoulder.

"Don't do that!"

_'You didn't think that I'd come back  
I'd come back swinging  
You try to break me, but you see.'_

"Do what? Be concerned about my girl?" Nico asked, chuckling a little as he slid his wings around her waist, smiling widely when she mirrored the action, though not before noticing the slight tremble in her wings, "now, are you alright?"

Ali nodded hesitantly, wanting her and Tia's little plan to be a surprise and trying not to show how nervous she was about it.

_'What doesn't kill you makes you stronger  
Stand a little taller  
Doesn't mean I'm lonely when I'm alone'_

"Yeah, I'm fine," she said, a little too quickly, with a smile that she just knew shook enough for him to take notice.

"Oh really?" Nico said sceptically, raising an eyebrow and looking at her with an expression that made her squirm. Which was something she was sure only he could make her do. If anyone else gives her that look, or any form of disbelief, disappointment or annoyance, she would just meet it with her own defiant glare, just daring them to say any more on the subject. But when she was alone with Nico he made her feel comfortable, safe enough to let her emotions go, even when she was trying not to.

_'What doesn't kill you makes a fighter  
Footsteps even lighter  
Doesn't mean I'm over cause you're gone.'_

"Hm mm," Ali hummed, avoiding looking at his face, instead averting her gaze to the floor, "I'm fine, nothing wrong at all."

Nico didn't look convinced.

Ali knew she was about to spill, and she was finding it increasingly hard not to do so. There was only one thing to do that could distract him, and herself for that matter. She leaned forward and quickly pressed her beak against his, wrapping both wings around his neck and almost giggling when she felt his body stiffen in surprise.

_'What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, stronger  
Just me, myself and I  
What doesn't kill you makes you stronger  
Stand a little taller  
Doesn't mean I'm lonely when I'm alone.'_

It didn't take long for Nico to relax and respond with eagerness and passion, wrapping his wings tightly around her waist and pulling her even closer

"Hey gu-oh!"

_'Thanks to you I got a new thing started  
Thanks to you I'm not the broken-hearted  
Thanks to you I'm finally thinking about me  
You know in the end the day you left was just my beginning  
In the end...'_

This time Ali actually did scream, breaking away from Nico and resting her forehead against his shoulder. Nico however, just laughed, rubbing her back and patting her lightly on the head, rolling his eyes at his brother, who was slowly backing away with a look of shock and absolute terror. Their eyes connected for a second, Tony's look just screaming 'don't-let-her-kill-me-please'.

_'What doesn't kill you makes you stronger  
Stand a little taller  
Doesn't mean I'm lonely when I'm alone  
What doesn't kill you makes a fighter  
Footsteps even lighter  
Doesn't mean I'm over cause you're gone.'_

"Again Ali, this is a public place," Nico said, placing a feather under her chin and pushing her head up to look at him, "you really shouldn't act so surprised."

She sighed a deep sigh, giving Tony a dark look out of the corner of her eye, trying not to smirk at the look of fear etched on his face. "I know, I know, but people could at least be quiet and not disturb," she sighed again, dropping her head back onto his shoulder and burying her face in the crook of his neck, "besides, I've missed being able to do that."

"Me too sweet, me too," Nico murmured, softly kissing the top of her head, "now, you going to tell me what's up?"

Ali stiffened for a moment, before groaning, leaning heavily against Nico.

_'What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, stronger  
Just me, myself and I  
What doesn't kill you makes you stronger  
Stand a little taller  
Doesn't mean I'm lonely when I'm alone.'_

She needed a new way to distract him.

"You ready girl?"

Tia's enthusiastic call almost made her jump, and she suddenly realised that meant their song was over, and that could only mean one thing.

"Ready?" she heard Nico ask, confusion clear in his deep voice. Despite being right next to her, his voice sounded like he was on the other side of the room, quiet and distant.

She took a deep breath, trying to steady her wildly beating heart. Telling herself to just breath, she turned to Nico, drawing him into a tight hug.

"This is for you," she whispered as she pulled away and fluttered over to Tia, who just smiled encouragingly and whispered a brief 'good luck'. She sucked in a long breath and held it, spreading her wings and flying onto the dark, empty stage, using every inch of brain power she had to block out the crowd and focus.

'_Just concentrate on why you're doing this, nothing else,'_ Tia had said to her earlier, '_oh, and the lyrics, don't forget the lyrics.'_

Right. Concentrate. She could do that. Easy. She'd travelled nearly 9000 miles with someone who got incredibly bitchy when he hadn't slept, watched a building that held the love of her life explode, then dug out his oh-so-still body, held him when he was in so much pain she couldn't bear it, and done what she once thought would be the hardest thing of all. She trusted.

This would be a walk in the park.

The crowd grew quickly silent as she stood in the front-centre of the stage, her eyes gently closed.

With a deep breath, she opened her beak and began to sing.

_"Sweet love, sweet love,  
Trapped in your love,  
I've opened up, unsure I can trust."_

The crowd stayed quiet, something Ali found herself incredibly thankful for. It helped her to forget they were even there, if she closed her eyes, she could easily imagine she was alone with Nico. She could picture him smiling his usual happy grin, watching her with admiration in his eyes. Not to say she thought she was that good, but Nico seemed to think so. He seemed to think every part of her was amazing. Good or bad.

"_My heart and I were buried in dust,  
Free me, free us,  
You're all I need when I'm holding you tight,  
If you walk away I will suffer tonight._"

She had to deny herself a sneaky glance to the wings, knowing he would be standing there. That would put her off for sure.

_"I found a man I can trust  
And boy, I believe in us  
I am terrified to love for the first time  
Can you see that I'm bound in chains?  
I've finally found my way."_

As she sang, her mind began to wander, never going to far, but doing exactly what Tia had told her to do. Think about why she was doing this. For him, all for him.

_"I am bound to you  
I am bound to you."_

Over the past week they had both hurt each other, whether intentionally or not and for the second time in her life she was scared. Scared she was losing him, terrified she already had. But the thing that frightened the most was the realisation that she had actually come to depend on someone, she had found something she simply could not live without and it scared her.

_"So much, so young, I've faced on my own  
Walls I built up became my home  
I'm strong and I'm sure there's a fire in us  
Sweet love, so pure  
I catch my breath with just one beating heart  
And I brace myself, please don't tear this apart."_

But now, singing this song in front of thousands of birds, she suddenly realised that she wasn't scared any more. She realised that Nico was just as dependant on her as she was on him. He was her soul mate, if she believed in such things, and she was his. Without a doubt.

And that was absolutely fine.

_"I found a man I can trust  
And boy, I believe in us  
I am terrified to love for the first time  
Can't you see that I'm bound in chains?  
I've finally found my way  
I am bound to you  
I am bound to..."_

She felt his eyes on her. Well, everyone's eyes on her, but even over all that, she knew he was watching, standing as close to the stage as possible without actually being visible to the crowd. He would be wearing that adorable little lopsided grin, his cap tipped slightly to one side. She wished she could turn and see, but knew she couldn't. She would be put off by that look and probably be unable to continue.

Instead she just threw herself further into her singing, putting so much passion into her voice she thought she might burst, grinning all the way.

_"Suddenly the moment's here  
I embrace my fears  
All that I have been carrying all these years  
Do I risk it all? Come this far just to fall?  
Fall."_

'Please, never leave me again,' she couldn't help but pray silently. She knew now. She knew the pain that came with him leaving her, and there was not a chance in hell she was willingly going to go through it again.

_"I've entrusted, and boy, I believe in us  
I am terrified to love for the first time  
Can you see that I'm bound in chains?  
And finally found my way  
I am bound to you  
I am, ooh I am  
I'm bound to you."_

She held the note, before trailing off into silence.

Barely breathing, she dared to open her eyes, looking out to the silent crowd. Suddenly she worried that they hadn't liked it, it was probably possible to hear a pin drop. Then, just as she was about to turn away from the audience, one bird started clapping, and suddenly everyone was cheering. Clapping, shouting, whistling, it was deafening.

Ali couldn't help the way her beak dropped open, and the short, shocked laugh that escaped her throat as she nervously bowed, all the stage fright she had fought down suddenly rushing back up. She quickly turned with the aim of getting off the stage as quickly as possible. But she was stopped in her tracks.

Just as she had imagined, he was standing there, right on the edge of the wings, hidden from the crowd by the curtain. His cap was indeed slightly wonky, and when he wasn't wolf-whistling and cheering with the others, his grin was indeed his usual happy, lopsided one that she loved so much. It was all she could do not to fly into his wings, instead calmly walking off the stage.

She never made it to his open wings however, instead being swept off her feet by another force of nature. Namely Tia. Who had scooped her up and was hugging her tightly, squealing happily over the deafening roar of the crowd. Somewhere in amongst the joyful squealing from Tia and Miyoko, she could hear everyone else laughing around them, and she couldn't help but grin herself, wiggling out of her friends tight grip, shimmying down until she was able to duck under Tia's wing.

She didn't get far though, as another wing grabbed hers and pulled her into another death-grip hug.

"Hey! Not fair," she heard Tia whine.

"Oh shush for a minute," Nico's laughing voice sounded close to her ear, and she realised it was his wings around her, holding her tightly as he stuck his tongue out childishly at Tia. But she didn't care, chuckling as she hugged back.

"But she's _my_ best friend!" Tia was arguing.

Nico was silent at this, but the way Tia spluttered over her words before giving up meant he had given her a 'bitch-please' look, effectively shutting her up.

And yet despite the fact that she was still shaking from the adrenaline, her best friend and boyfriend were acting like children and it looked like she had no way of escaping Nico's tight grip, she knew one thing. She finally belonged somewhere.

* * *

Panic was beginning to set in.

There was no other word for it. Sheer, bloody panic was running through the cardinal's mind as he paced, along with Nico's lyrics from earlier, trying to conjure up anything he could add to them. They were perfect, as usual, and he could help the pang of jealousy when he glanced over at the smaller bird, who was laying on his back with his eyes closed and mouthing the lyrics to one of the songs.

He looked so damn calm.

"Just relax," Nico said quietly, sounding incredibly laid-back about the entire thing.

Relax? He was kidding right?

"Nico? You do know we're up in half an hour right? That's thirty minutes left to prepare for the biggest performance of our lives!" Pedro practically exploded, stopping his pacing to give his best friend a look of utter disbelief.

"What, and you think I'm not internally screaming?" Nico asked, cracking one eye open and glancing at Pedro, who had once again begun pacing, "I'm panicking just as much as you are, I'm just handling it better."

"Oh, those last five minutes are going to be fun," Pedro muttered under his breath, casting a brief sideways glance at Nico, who was quietly singing to himself, though he couldn't help but notice the way he was nervously tapping his foot against the wall they were propped up against.

The next half an hour went quickly. A little too quickly for the pair, and after a few run-throughs which went slightly better than expected, the two birds were standing in the wings and waiting for the act before them to finish.

Any idiot could tell from a mile away that they were nervous. Pedro was anxiously hopping from foot to foot, while Nico was fiddling with his hat as they watched Australia's performance. They were good, anyone would admit to that, and none of it was making Nico or Pedro feel any better about going up against them.

"You ready?" Pedro asked, not taking his eyes off the stage as the performance finished and the presenter flew calmly onto the stage.

Nico took a deep breath, placing his cap firmly on his head, nodding slowly, "as I'll ever be, you? We can always go back to our original set list you know?"

Pedro chuckled nervously, shaking his head, "not now, I hate say it, but what you came up with today was better, hell of a lot better. I'm just hoping I can improvise to the same standard."

"You'll be brilliant," Nico smiled, hearing their names followed by a loud cheer, "I know you will."

The stage darkened, which the pair took as their cue to flutter quickly onto the stage, waiting for the signal from the stage hands either side that they were ready.

Both birds caught sight of the large group that had somehow wormed their way to the front, all grinning and cheering, and neither of them could help the excited grins appearing on their beaks as the stage fright faded, replaced with exhilaration and adrenaline.

"_Hey oh_," Nico started, colourful lights slowly lighting up the vast stage, a steady drum beat beginning seconds later. Nico was stood at the front, to the right, Pedro up on the platform to the left. "_Oh, oh, oh, oh. Hey yeah, ah, ah yeah."_

Pedro strutted forward, the spot light quickly falling on him as he began to rap.

"_It's all about to change,  
No wishing on a star it's all been arranged,  
Blazing I soar heaven bound,  
I shoot through the sky meteors hit the ground,  
I shine in the dark, Climbing the charts,  
The light of the world,  
Close to the sun, chosen to run,  
We're high hitters, so get your wings up come shine with us."_

The spotlight switched to Nico, who was grinning so wide, tapping his foot with eyes tight shut, so into the music it was like the audience wasn't even there. He blocked it all out, concentrating solely on the music, his voice and the lyrics he had written only hours ago.

"_You're feeling all the music rising,  
Keep moving like a new horizon,  
We're keeping all the wheels in motion,  
Get it ready, c'mon 'cause a commotion."_

Both birds took off towards the centre of the stage, landing back to back and singing together.

"_Move, move, everybody move, move,  
When the crowd go who, who,  
Let 'em know it's you, you,  
And you know who we are,  
Shining like a supernova,  
Yeah, we the shooting stars,  
Sh-sh-shooting stars, shooting stars."_

Now it was Nico's turn, singing as he took several long strides forward so he was standing right on the edge of the stage, pumping his fist to the screaming crowd.

"_Back again and I'm bringing it harder,  
Stack it up like food in the larder,  
'Cause you know that I'm riding the groove like a marder.  
I'm the one you wanna know,  
Give me the mike and I'm wrecking the show,  
Give me the pad and I'm penning the flow,  
And I still got skills in the studio-o-o."_

As he moved into the bridge, he stepped backwards slowly, raising his wings on either side.

_"You're feeling all the music rising,  
Keep moving like a new horizon,  
We're keeping all the wheels in motion,  
Just get it ready, g-get it ready, let's go!"_

He flew up to the left of the raised platform, Pedro already on the right, and they launched back into the chorus.

"_Move, move, everybody move, move,  
When the crowd go who, who,  
Let 'em know it's you, you,  
And you know who we are,  
Shining like a supernova,  
Yeah, we the shooting stars,  
Sh-sh-shooting stars, shooting stars."_

The music silenced, only the beat remained, and Pedro flew down to centre stage, sliding forwards as he landed, before dancing up a storm while Nico sang the chorus yet again, only his voice and the steady drum beat sounding around the quietened arena. As he sang, the crowd began to clap along with the beat.

"_Move, move, everybody move, move,  
When the crowd go who, who,  
Let 'em know it's you, you,  
And you know who we are,  
Shining like a supernova,  
Yeah, we the shooting stars,  
Sh-sh-shooting stars, shooting stars."_

Cheering exploded around the clearing as the music silenced, lights dropping, plunging the stage into darkness. Nico took a deep breath, closing his eyes as he fluttered forwards to centre stage, trying to keep a calm expression and break into a wide grin as the spotlight found him. Behind, the rest of the stage was dimly lit with multicoloured lights.

_"Falling stars don't crash through your window,  
If you want it, go get it, it's meant to be chased,  
All your scars won't heal till you let go,  
You're perfectly worth it, forget your mistakes."_

Pedro was taking a step back with the second song, when Nico offered, he had chosen to provide the backup, maybe joining in with the chorus. He could see during their rather rushed rehearsals that the song meant a lot personally to Nico, and he didn't particularly want to impose.

"_If you wanna fly, leave this world with me,  
We'll touch the sky, let's defy this gravity,  
Hold on to me tight, when it all falls down_."

Nico opened his eyes, looking down into the enthusiastic audience, immediately catching Ali's eye and winking, grinning wide. She grinned back, the widest smile he'd seen from her in days.

"_You can take my heart, if yours won't beat,  
We're forever unstoppable,  
If you're torn apart, I'll make you see,  
That nothing's impossible,  
When you're broken, and you're shattered,  
Love will save you from disaster,  
You can take my heart, if yours won't beat,  
We're forever, forever, forever unstoppable_."

He had taken off into the air around halfway through the chorus, landing on the highest platform just above Pedro. But, rather than landing left foot first, like he had gotten into the habit of doing, he landed on the right, hearing a tiny, yet deafening crack as his entire weight pressed down on the still weak bone, and a sudden sharp pain shot up his leg. His breath caught in his throat, knowing something was wrong, but put a smile on his face none the less. He was not going to let a little pain ruin their chances.

_"Yeah we've both been touched by the same flame,  
Don't worry, I've got you, I won't let you burn,  
You and I got played by the same game,  
We're in it, together, for better or worse,  
If you wanna fly, leave this world with me,  
We'll touch the sky, let's defy this gravity  
Hold on to me tight, when it all falls down_."

He carried on none the less, no one seemed to have noticed his slight hiccup. Even Ali, who was usually so observant when it came to him and his well being. The pain dulled quickly after the initial shot of pain, and while there was still a dull ache, it wasn't too bad. He was suddenly thankful he was leaving most of the dancing to Pedro, and his own limited moves didn't involve too much physical exertion.

_"You can take my heart, if yours won't beat  
We're forever unstoppable  
If you're torn apart, I'll make you see  
That nothing's impossible  
When you're broken, and you're shattered  
Love will save you from disaster  
You can take my heart, if yours won't beat  
We're forever, forever, forever unstoppable_."

By this point the ache was almost non-existent, and Nico couldn't help but sigh in relief as he took to the air once again, landing at the front with a spin and a small smile.

_"There's a feeling inside you,  
Just dying to break through,  
Open up and set it free,  
We're on a horizon,  
Just look in my eyes and you will see."_

The music quietened a little, and Pedro's voice rang out, his own small solo.

_"When you're broken, and you're shattered,  
Love will save you from disaster."_

Nico joined in, and they both sang, slowly side-stepping towards each other, but facing the crowd.

_"You can take my heart, if yours won't beat,  
We're forever unstoppable,  
If you're torn apart, I'll make you see,  
That nothing's impossible,  
When you're broken, and you're shattered,  
Love will save you from disaster,  
You can take my heart, if yours won't beat,  
We're forever, forever, forever unstoppable,  
We're forever, forever, forever unstoppable,  
We're forever, forever, forever unstoppable,  
Forever unstoppable."_

They stopped for a second, back to back, catching their breath a little.

One more song.

The music blared up one last time, bright, coloured spotlight sweeping the stage, and they waited a few beats, before Pedro launched into their final number, smirking as he strutted forwards towards the crowd, fist pumping as he riled them up into a frenzy while Nico flew back up to the platform, doing his own little dance to the beat as he landed.

_"3, 2, 1 Here we go again,  
NP on the track on the flow again,  
Bright star, I'm alive and I'm showin' it,  
Take a deep breath, watch out cause' I'm throwin' it,  
To the crowd, and without them knowin' it,  
We get 'em movin' dancin' doin' it."_

He flew up to Nico, and they stood back to back, leaning on each other. Nico pushed his hat down slightly to cover his eyes.

"_I'm gonna do it, you gonna do we gonna do it, dance now,  
You gonna do it, we gonna do it, I'm gonna do it, dance now."_

Nico flicked his hat back and winked at the screaming crowd, stepping forward and punching the air, "this is where the party's at, lemme see the crowd react!"

If possible, the cheers and whistles got louder as they launched into the chorus, Nico singing every other line solo.

_"We gonna rock and roll,  
Everybody just do your thing,  
Rock and roll,  
C'mon everybody go crazy,  
Rock and roll,  
Everybody just do your thing,  
Rock and roll,  
C'mon everybody go crazy."_

Pedro danced forward, putting his wings in the air and clapping to the beat, starting the audience off.

_"It's party time, it's party time, it's p-p-p-p-p-p-p-party time,  
It's party time, it's party time, it's p-p-p-p-p-p-p-party time."_

Nico couldn't help but laugh at some of the dance moves Pedro was pulling, deciding to let him get on with it and do his own, simple dance as he moved into the next verse.

"_It's time to get the party started,  
Split the crowd like the sea Moses parted,  
Walk down the middle, swagger on a little,  
Do a dance move hit the track like a missile,  
Now that I got you dancin',  
You feel good you mood I'm enhancing,  
Do a silly move now the crowd is laughing  
Do it again, that's what the crowd is askin'."_

Pedro couldn't help but match his moves to the lyrics, eliciting quite a few laughs.

"This is where the party's at! Let me see the crowd react!" Nico once again called out, flying forward to join his friend as they launched into their final chorus.

_"I'm gonna do it, you gonna do it, we gonna do it, dance now,  
You gonna do it, we gonna do it, I'm gonna do it, dance now.  
We gonna rock and roll,  
Everybody just do your thing,  
Rock and roll,  
C'mon everybody go crazy,  
Rock and roll,  
Everybody just do your thing,  
Rock and roll,  
C'mon everybody go crazy."_

They did a spin, finishing back to back, wings crossed, Nico's cap covering his eyes as Pedro finished.

_"It's party time, it's party time, it's p-p-p-p-p-p-p-party time,  
It's party time, it's party time, it's p-p-p-p-p-p-p-party time,  
It's party time, it's party time, it's p-p-p-p-p-p-p-party time,  
It's party time, it's party time, it's p-p-p-p-p-p-p-party time,  
It's party time, it's party time, it's p-p-p-p-p-p-p-party time,  
It's party time, it's party time, it's p-p-p-p-p-p-p-party time."_

_"Cause it's party time!"_

They finished together, and the lights flickered off immediately, officially ending their set.

The crowd exploded, cheering, whistling, clapping, but none as loud nor as enthusiastically as the group down the front.

Nico and Pedro panted, trying to catch their breath as the adrenaline rush began to die, both grinning so wide their faces could have spit in two. With the stage still dark, they were able to make a quick exit. Nico caught sight of Ali, Tia and Cosette trying to fight their way out of the crowd, unable to properly take off in such a tight space, and he couldn't help the laugh that burst out.

The pair collapsed in a undignified heap once they were backstage, Nico propping his legs up on Pedro's stomach, both breathing hard and laughing off the last of the adrenaline.

"That was...Amazing!" Tia's loud voice sounded, and they looked over, neither having the energy to do anything more than left their heads a few millimetres off the floor. The tanager rushed over with a wide grin on her face, dropping down next to Pedro and pressing a sound kiss to his beak.

Nico rolled his eyes, smirking as he lifted his feet off his friend and pushed himself into a sitting position, sliding backwards a little. But he didn't stay sitting for long, as a yellow blur tackle hugged him back to the ground, laughing happily.

"You were brilliant," Ali whispered, "no way can you lose now."

"Thanks sweet," Nico chuckled, pushing them both back up with one wing, wrapping the other tightly around her waist, "but that is yet to be seen. There's still five more acts."

"You'll win," Tony's proud voice broke in, and the couple looked up to see the rest of their large group standing very close by, "I'm sure you will."

Nico shook his head, smiling as he untangled himself, albeit reluctantly, from Ali's embrace, and stood to hug his brother. But he never got that far, as pain suddenly flared up once again, and his legs buckled beneath him, Tony and Cosette rushing forward to catch him before he hit the floor. Even Pedro and Tia, who were so engrossed in each other looked over in alarm.

"Nico, are you okay?" Cosette asked, gently lowering him down.

Despite it all, Nico was laughing, which only deepened the looks of confusion and concern from those surrounding him. He nodded, still chuckling as he reached forward and rubbed his sore leg. "Yeah, yeah I'm fine," he said, brushing it off, "I think I just landed awkwardly during the second song."

"I thought everything was okay now?" Rafael asked, moving around to stand next to his son, looking down at the smaller bird with concern.

"Yeah, for the most part," Nico shrugged, letting Ali pull him back to lean against her, "it's still a little weak, especially as I haven't put my full weight on it properly since it happened. Especially not while landing. It's nothing."

"We're still going to get it checked out first thing tomorrow, okay?" Ali told him.

"Seriously, you just did nearly all of that with a bad leg?" Pedro asked, beak dropped open in shock.

"Couldn't tell," Miyoko said, looking quite shocked herself.

"Even I didn't notice," Ali murmured, hugging him from behind, "and if I didn't notice, I very much doubt anyone else did."

Nico laughed, turning slightly in her grasp to press a quick kiss to her beak.

"So what do we do now?" Tony asked, sitting on the floor and spreading his legs, leaning forward on his wings.

"We wait."

* * *

**A/N: I hated writing this chapter. So freaking much. Stupid performances. My gosh they're annoying to write.**

**But hey, here they are, they'll do. I hope they're up to a good enough standard for you guys :) Thanks to everyone for the suggestions by the way. I don't think I've actually used any specifically, but looking up the artists helped, and I got a lot of inspiration from there. **

**The songs were:**

**Stronger - Kelly Clarkson**

**Bound To You - Christina Aguilera**

**Supernova - 29th Chapter (Got the inspiration to use this when I saw them advertised at Soul Survivor. Was a right pain in the butt to get the lyrics for, since I couldn't find them online, so I had listen to the song over and over trying to work them out. And as such, I cut half the song out because I couldn't understand a freaking word of it.)**

**Forever Unstoppable - Hot Chelle Rae**

**Party Time - LZ7**

**Never again am I putting so many songs in one chapter. Ever.**

**Well, I hope you all enjoyed, please do review and tell me what you think. See you soon :)**


	10. The Results

Three hours.

Three long and downright painful hours.

They were fine at first, happily chatting away between them in their private room, joking around, or outside watching the rest of the show. And in Nico's case, curling up on a cushion in the corner and having a well-deserved nap.

But then things started to go downhill very quickly when boredom set in, the nervous atmosphere surrounding them making them all anxious to discover the results of the competition.

Rafael shook his head in amusement at the sight he walked in on. After taking his kids home and putting them to bed, he came back to find Pedro pacing nervously, Tony and Miyoko sat back to back, the former seemingly asleep, but tapping random beats with his foot, and the latter was talking with Tia, who was picking at the tiny stones on the dusty ground. Adriana was doing her best to reel in the twins, who were trying to cause havoc, only failing because of the small, yet loud Portuguese bird sitting on them. Ali was lying with a still sleeping Nico, her head tucked into the crook of his neck, her eyes partly open and watching the restless group with a half-amused, half-sleepy smile.

Cosette seemed the calmest, lying on a pillow with her legs propped up on the wall and wings interlinked on her stomach, humming softly to herself with a small smile.

The toucan rolled his eyes and made his way over to the sparrow quietly, keeping one eye on the fidgety group.

"Everything okay?" he asked the French bird, who cracked open one eye and looked up at him, a small smirk playing on her beak.

"Oh yes," she said, opening her other eye to see him properly as he sat down next to her, "only another hour to go."

This set off a collective groan, everyone stopping what they were doing to glare at the chuckling sparrow. Even Nico, apparently not so asleep, managed to crack one eye open to shoot her a dark look.

"We just need something else to think about," Miyoko said from the ground, dropping her head back onto Tony's shoulder and staring thoughtfully at the ceiling.

"We need something else to do!" Tony emphasized, "this is driving me insane."

Silence covered the room as they all tried to think of something, anything, that could take their minds off the impending results.

"How about a game of some sorts?" one of the twins suggested. Another chorus of groans struck up.

"Anything you two suggest will probably end up with someone getting hurt," Nico mumbled sleepily, eyes still closed. Ali snickered quietly, stretching out her legs, flexing her toes and humming a quiet and familiar tune to herself. "Are you humming what I think you're humming?" Nico asked her, opening his eyes and looking down as the rest of the group went back to chatting. Even Pedro had stopped pacing and was sat with Tony, Tia and Miyoko, talking aimlessly about whatever came into their heads. Even Adriana leant over and broke into the conversation when she could understand what they were saying and when she wasn't babysitting the twins.

"Nothing like a good old classic," Ali grinned up at him. She sat up, leaning over him and began to sing softly, "_Tonight, I'm gonna have myself a real good time, I feel ali-i-i-ive."_

Nico couldn't help the wide grin that grew on his beak, and he could see Rafael and Cosette smirk over at them out of the corner of his eye, "_and the world it's turning inside out, yeah! I'm floating around in ecstasy." _

_"So don't stop me now don't stop me_," they sang together, both grinning as they heard the room fall silent, "_'Cause I'm having a good time, having a good time!" _

"_I'm a shooting star leaping through the skies_," Tony sang, slowly and a little timidly at first, like he wasn't sure if he should be, but the grins from the now sat up couple spurred him on, more confidently. "_Like a tiger defying the laws of gravity, I'm a racing car passing by like Lady Godiva I'm gonna go, go, go, There's no stopping me_!"

Miyoko and Tia grinned at each other as Tony held the note, _"I'm burning through the skies yeah!"_ they sang together, dancing to the silent beat, _"Two hundred degrees! That's why they call me Missus Fahrenheit! I'm trav'ling at the speed of light, I wanna make a supersonic man of you!"_ They each pointed at their respective significant other dramatically, everyone laughing as the two boys were pulled into the dance.

Ali snickered, getting up and pulling a reluctant Nico to his feet along with her, taking both his wings in hers and trying to get the still tired bird to dance. "_Don't stop me now,"_ she sang, laughing as he smiled begrudgingly, singing along with her, "_I'm having such a good time, I'm having a ball! Don't stop me now, if you wanna have a good time just give me a call!"_

Nico found himself waking up more and more as he sang, lifting his wing and spinning Ali before pulling her close and dancing together, singing with the rest of the group, laughing as they were pulled in with the four already on their feet, wings around each other. This may not be a permanent solution to their boredom and anxiety, unless they made it last the hour they had left, but it was enough for now.

_"Don't stop me now!"_

* * *

The time had come.

Nico shifted nervously from foot to foot, all tiredness vanished, quickly replaced with a sharp bout of adrenaline and fear shooting through his veins. This was the moment they had been waiting for. Ever since they had first heard of the prestigious competition.

And now it was time to find out just how well, or not, they had done.

He began to wonder if he even cared. Truth was, he was impressed they had even made it to the competition. They were picked, out of all the birds in the city, to perform. Out of the hundreds and thousands of birds, they were the ones deemed good enough to enter. And taking into consideration all that had happened over the previous week, Nico was amazed they were still happy and alive.

But someone was obviously watching over them.

And now they were stood on the stage once more with around 30 other groups and performers, anxiously awaiting the results.

Down in the front row stood their little group, cheering them on; their shouts ringing in the duo's ears, seemingly drowning out the noise of the rest of the crowd.

Everything went quiet as the show's presenter, Lucas, walked onto the stage, a tall white pelican with a loud voice and a rather charismatic attitude, if a little cheesy. He had the crowd in tears of laughter whenever he came onto the stage in between acts and opened his beak.

"Ladies and gentlebirds," he called out, holding up his wings to silence the stragglers, "we finally come to the moment you've all been waiting for! It's my turn to sing!" He took a pause as some of the crowd giggled lightly, and grinned wide as many rolled their eyes, "no, I'm kidding, obviously. You've heard my singing voice haven't you? It certainly wouldn't outshine a single one of these fantastic performers. Which brings us onto the final part of our competition! The results!"

The sound was deafening. Each country cheering for their own entry, supporting them in the only way they could.

"Each and every one of these acts were absolutely brilliant, I'm sure you'll agree," Lucas said once the cheers had died once more, "the amount of work that goes into these performances is astounding."

Nico had to force back a small snort at this, and he could have sworn he saw Lucas sneak a quick, knowing glance over at the smirking pair.

"The judges had a really difficult time picking out the top three places, but as you know, there can only be one winner. But first, just to add a little more torture to the evening for most of you, the runners up! In no particular order..."

Nico heard Pedro take a deep breath, the larger bird tapping his foot as Lucas began listing off all the cities that hadn't made it into the top three, the tapping increasing in speed with every name crossed off the list that wasn't theirs. By the time they had reached the top ten, Nico had stomped on the cardinals foot. Hard.

Needless to say he stopped tapping it.

There was a definite knot in Nico's stomach by the time they got down to the top five. They could still be knocked out now. Just two more. Two more out and they were in the top three.

Rome and Tokyo.

He was fairly sure he stopped breathing, the rest of the world blurred out as the news sunk in, and he could distantly feel Pedro's wings on his shoulders, shaking him as the older bird cheered.

The top three.

The worst they could do now was third place.

* * *

Down at the front it was all they could do to keep quiet while the presenter listed off the runners up. Even though they wanted to cheer and clap every time Nico and Pedro weren't called out, the performers walking dejectedly off the stage probably didn't want anyone to actually sound happy that they hadn't won.

Tia was finding it very difficult to keep Ali from standing still in one place, she kept hopping from foot to foot or bouncing on her toes. Both were unbelievably distracting. So as they got closer and closer to first place, Tia found herself with her wings on Ali's shoulders, practically forcing the girl to stand still for a moment.

Admittedly, she was pretty nervous herself.

The duo were amazing, probably the best performance she had seen. She couldn't help be a little jealous, both at Nico's lyrics and how well Pedro could improvise around them, but then, they had been singing together for nearly seven years. Pedro once said something about how well they moulded together when they first sang, and after so long, he just knew what to expect from the younger bird.

Most of the time.

The knot in her stomach got ever tighter as they reached the last runner up.

Then the next thing she knew she was screaming and jumping with the rest of them, laughing at the look of sheer shock and disbelief on Nico and Pedro's faces as most of the crowd, the Rio half and the supporters from Argentina and Ireland exploded in cheers and whistles.

For something that was done in less than half a day, even third place was damn impressive.

* * *

"I give you the three finalists!" Lucas called, calming the crowd with his strong voice, "But now, who came first, second and third?"

The audience went completely silent, expectantly awaiting the final results.

Nico bounced anxiously on his toes, grin threatening to split his face in two. From the audience, Ali caught his eye and winked, laughing at the ecstatic expression on his face.

'You can do this!' she mouthed enthusiastically, leaning heavily on the railing.

'I don't care!' Nico mouthed back, shrugging and laughing.

Six hours. They put their performance together in six hours. If third place was the best they could do, that was good enough for him. But even so, the butterflies in his stomach were still there. They could still get first place. They could still win this thing.

"In third place..." Lucas started, pausing for effect, and Nico heard Pedro take a deep breath to calm his nerves, "Argentina!"

The crowd exploded once more, and Nico found himself releasing the breath he didn't know he was holding, his grin growing so wide it began to hurt. The trio of Argentineans were handed a small bronze trophy, which they held high, happy with what they got.

"And now, the moment you've all been waiting for..."

Nico glanced over at Ireland's entry, a medium sized sparrow who sang the most hauntingly beautiful song. She was pitch-perfect, no flashing lights, no backup dancers, just plain and simple, easily one of the best acts of the night and had every right to win this competition.

"In second place..."

Nico placed his hat back on his head from where he had been playing with it, closing his eyes and just concentrating on breathing in and out. He felt a wing on his shoulder, trembling ever so slightly, and reminder that Pedro was just as anxious about this as he was.

"All the way from Dublin..."

That was it, that was all he heard, the moment the presenter mentioned Ireland he was gone. He didn't even notice glittering confetti fall from the ceiling and flutter down onto the stage.

Surely he must have misheard.

But then, if the screaming drifting up from the front was any indication, he can't have.

There was a moment of still, where he was just frozen to the spot, unable to move, his face still one of complete astonishment, before laughter bubbled up in his throat, spilling out his beak as he buried his face in his wings, grinning uncontrollably.

He had almost forgotten about Pedro, when suddenly two wings were wrapped around his body and he was actually lifted off the ground, bottle cap falling off in all the excitement, and Pedro's ecstatic laughter rang in his ears. It took quite a bit of wiggling and fidgeting to get the older bird to put him down, but soon enough his feet were back on the ground.

He pulled himself together for a moment, turning to the girl from Ireland, who seemed just as happy as they were, jumping up and down and clapping enthusiastically, waving to someone in the audience. She briefly glanced over, then took a longer look when she saw Nico smiling at her, the grin on her beak never once fading.

With a quick wave back to the crowd she fluttered to the centre of the stage. Nico glanced back to Pedro, who had been pretty much tackled to the ground by Tia, and was now being showered with kisses. With a roll of his eyes, the canary turned back to Irish girl (her name had escaped him in all the excitement), meeting her in the centre.

She held out a wing.

"You deserved it," she said with a thick accent, "really, you were wonderful."

Nico took the offered wing in his own and shook it, smiling warmly. "Thanks," he said, "you were too, seriously, your voice is amazing. Absolutely beautiful."

"Thank you."

They both nodded politely before she span around and flew offstage into her family's wings.

Nico closed his eyes feeling the overwhelming wave of achievement rush over him as he turned to the crowd, Pedro appearing at his side, Ali flying up and hugging him tightly.

After everything he had been through, all the troubles getting home from London, his accidental trip around the world, Vincent and Franco, this was it. This was what he was looking for that whole time, what he was fighting for.

Family, friends, music.

Home.

* * *

**A/N: Ugh...Just a little chapter this time guys. You'll have to forgive me for the tardiness of this, and it's still a little choppy, but I started University this week, so I moved away from home to a completely new city. Which personally has been an absolutely terrifying experience for me, and all I've wanted to do all week is go home. I'm not particularly good at making friends either, which hasn't helped. Freshers week has been insanely busy, so I haven't had time to write much, but I thought I'd post what I've got now before I change my mind. **

**Song is, obviously, 'Don't Stop Me Now' by Queen. Thought I'd throw in a old classic :) **

**This is technically the final chapter, but there's still the epilogue to come, so watch out for that :) Please review, it would honestly make my week :)**


	11. Epilogue

"Hey."

Ali turned her head at the soft voice, seeing Nico landed gently in their hollow, a wide grin on his face as he wrapped his wings around her waist from behind and leant his chin on her shoulder.

"How you doin' sweet?" he asked, swaying rhythmically.

"Tired as hell," Ali mumbled her reply, leaning back against her mate and closing her eyes, "tell me again why we chose to do this?"

"Uh, we didn't?" Nico answered, shifting his feet a little to better support her weight.

"Oh yeah, it's all your fault," Ali said with a sleepy smirk.

"Excuse me," Nico mock-argued, unable to keep the smile off his face as he spun Ali around so she was facing him, "I do believe that night was your idea."

Ali raised an eyebrow, giving him her best 'unimpressed' look, making Nico second-guess what he was about to say, the words dying in his throat at the half-glare she was giving him. He resisted the urge to sigh, still unable to get over the fact that this girl could silence him with a simple look, whereas when he was faced with an eagle twenty times his size he couldn't keep his damn beak shut. Guess it just showed who he found more intimidating.

"I still retain that this whole thing is solely your fault," Ali said firmly, refusing to back down.

"Sorry, I'm just not seeing your logic there, you were the one who quite literally dragged me out of the club," Nico retorted, looking thoughtful as he thought back to that night nearly two weeks ago.

"You were speaking French!" Ali argued, as if that was the most obvious reason in the world, "you were whispering to me in bloody French! What was I meant to do?"

Nico just raised both eyebrows, an amused smirk playing on his beak. "So that's all it takes, me talking a little French?"

"It wasn't just the French," Ali mumbled, breaking the eye contact and looking at the floor, her expression sheepish, the hint of a smirk playing in the corner of her beak. "That was," she paused, taking a deep breath and chuckling a little, "a big part of it I'll admit though, but even so."

Nico grinned, "Okay, alors peut-être qu'il était en quelque sorte ma faute," he said, shrugging innocently.

There was a moment of silence, Ali staring at him blankly, one wing twitching ever so slightly. She sighed, dropping a wing into her wing. "You know, I have no clue what you just said, but it's taking all my self-restraint to...to..."

"Not now," Nico said softly, trying to keep himself from smirking.

"See! All your bloody fault!"

"That's what I said," Nico grinned.

"No you di- why you little..." Ali scowled, crossing her wings across her chest as she glared at him, figuring out what he was saying. Maybe it was time she learnt French herself, get back at him a little. Then again, knowing French while she didn't was the only thing he could hold over her.

"Language sweetie, let's give the poor kid a few months of normality."

Ali had to force back a laugh at this, turning around to the tiny nest behind them, shaking her head in disbelief. "Normality? You do know who our friends are right?"

"You do know who we are right?" Nico shot back, laughing as he wrapped a wing around her shoulder and looked down with a soft smile. "You worried?"

She looked down at the tiny sleeping form of their newborn son, leaning heavily against Nico, "a little, but everybody does, and it's not like we don't have plenty of help."

"Yeah you do!"

The couple turned, already inwardly rolling their eyes as Pedro and Tia landed, slightly clumsily, at the entrance to their hollow, both giggling giddily.

"This kid's screwed," Nico muttered, chuckling lightly as his best friend stumbled over, "have you been drinking?"

"He better not have been," Ali muttered darkly.

"Don't worry you two, just a little hyper," Tia laughed, "too much sleep," she explained quietly, grinning wide as she leant over Ali shoulder and looked into the nest. "Aw, he's just...just..."

"Too cute for words?" Nico put in, smiling proudly, "we know."

"Don't take this the wrong way, but so much cuter than yesterday," Pedro said from Nico's side. Ali and Nico looked at each other for a second, beaks open as if to dispute the claim, then begrudgingly agreed. The kid had obviously got his voice from his mother.

"All kids like cute when they're asleep, and, well, so long as he doesn't grow up to be like Ralfy's kids, I'm not gonna complain," Nico said, shrugging.

"You are one of Ralfy's kids," Pedro pointed out with a sly grin.

"Yeah, not genetically though, and hopefully that's all that counts."

Tia giggled, "everything seems to be piling up against him doesn't it?"

Again, Nico and Ali opened their beaks to argue, before once again agreeing. Between them all, they knew they were going to be raising one hell of a kid. The new parents looked at each other, smiles growing on their beaks as their eyes connected, identical looks saying the exact same thing. '_I don't care.'_

A yawn broke the momentary connection, and all four birds dropped their gaze to the tiny bird, who had his beak open in a wide yawn, eyes blinking open, cautiously testing the light. Dark blue eyes blinked up at them, innocently taking in each face hovering over him.

"Hey baby," Ali murmured, reaching down and carefully picking him up, "you going to be quiet for your mama today?" she asked jokingly, though a tiny hint of seriousness broke through in her voice. The other three birds stayed silent as she cooed over her baby, though Nico stayed close, one wing around her shoulders.

"Have you named him yet?" Pedro asked quietly.

"Felix," Ali said, a wide smile filling her face, unable to take her eyes off the sleepy bundle in her wings.

Tia nudged Pedro, nodding towards the door as she edged towards it, dragging him along reluctantly, leaving the new parents to enjoy the peace and quiet.

"We're going to be okay aren't we?" Ali asked after a few moments of silence, tearing her gaze off Felix and up to Nico, eyes wide and worried.

"Of course we are sweet," Nico said, kissing the side of her head, "we're going to give him love, nurturing, and just enough dysfunction for him to be funny."

Ali couldn't help but laugh, "I love you," she whispered through chuckles.

Nico grinned, kissing her head then Felix's.

"I love you too," he said, "both of you."

* * *

**A/N: And.. Done! Sorry this took so long, I left home in september, started university and generally started a whole new life. I had a lot to get sorted, and didn't really have time or inspiration to write. But it's here, slightly rushed, but here. The promised epilogue. I hope you all enjoyed. I certainly did. Thank you to everyone who reviewed, I love you all and would give you all a huge hug if I could :)**

**However, I regret to say, but I think this is it from me. I'm not quite as invested in the fandom and in these stories as I used to be, and while I may pop up every now and again with the odd oneshot or drabble (which I will put all in one story), it's unlikely they will be regular, if at all. It's been a good run, and a huge thank you to all who have stuck by me. I hope to be back one day, maybe the sequel will spark a new interest when it comes out. who knows ;) **

**Again, thank you to everyone who has reviewed, and even to those who have read and enjoyed but chosen to stay silent. Heck, even those who read it and hated it. Thank you to you all, just for clicking the link and reading :D You're all amazing. **


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